Severus and Rei
by Shritistrang
Summary: Severus Snape is in for the probably hardest Hogwarts year of his life... for he is one of the Sailor Senshi, Sailor Mars! Strange? You don't know half of it... Sailor Moon Crossover
1. The Transformation Pen

Author's Note:

I'd like to point out that this is the first chapter of an unfinished story stored on my PC, and I'm not sure if I will continue this at all... but I just wanted to share what I've got with everyone who's interested.

* * *

Severus Snape looked around his dark office.

He wasn't really looking forward to yet another year with that class. He remembered how Longbottom managed to ruin yet another cauldron. That boy really irritated him... how could he ever hope to become a capable wizard if everything he touches goes down in shards?

But Longbottom was not the only one from that class he didn't like. Weasley wasn't much better than Longbottom. Miss Granger was an intolerable know-it-all. Potter... well, let's not start there...

It wasn't like his Slytherin charges were all good role model students, especially Crabbe and Goyle... but why did that Gryffindor bunch need to remind him every single lesson that they were a bunch of incompetent fools?

He thought back to the last time when a Gryffindor really liked him... but that memory instantly got disturbed by the memories of that boy who chose her instead of him...

Just before it was time to join the opening banquet, he closed the classroom and started to walk to the Great Hall.

On his way upstairs, he collided with a blonde girl with long pigtails who came running down the stairs. She had a very ditzy look on her face and stuttered while apologizing: "Oh, I'm so sorry about this, Professor! Are you all right? Here, let me help you up..."

"I am fine," Snape replied gruffly. "But aren't you supposed to be in the Great Hall, girl?"

"Yeah, but I kinda got lost and this school is sooo huge... all these stairs and corridors are so confusing. Can you please tell me where to go? I need to attend the Sorting Ceremony..."

"You are a new student at Hogwarts?" Snape wondered. Well, he would refrain from taking off House Points this time, since the girl wasn't even sorted into a house yet.

"That's right!" she grinned. "I'm Usagi Tsukino, and I can't wait for the school year to begin!"

"Aren't you... kind of old for a first-grader?" Snape wondered while staring at the girl with his steely gaze.

Usagi didn't feel worried by his gaze at all. "Well, I'm sort of a special case, you see?" she grinned. "My family has moved here from Japan, and since I can't attend my old school anymore, I was told to go to Hogwarts instead. Of course I need to get sorted into a new house... I sooo hope it's going to be Gryffindor! I heard so many good things about that house!" she gushed.

'She seems more like a Hufflepuff to me...' Snape pondered. "The Great Hall is up these stairs, and then down the corridor... take the door to your left. But use the door at the end of the corridor, that's where the new students are waiting for the ceremony to begin."

"Cool, thank you so much, Professor... um, I didn't catch your name..."

"Snape," he replied coolly. "Professor Snape."

She grinned and gave him the thumbs up. "Great! Thanks, Professor! See ya in class!" And she dashed off.

Snape looked after her as she ran up the stairs, nearly colliding with one of the armors that were standing on the upper corridor. Yes, definitely a Hufflepuff...

"Yes, this school year is definitely going to be fun..." he murmured to himself. Somehow, he doubted that girl would do much better than Longbottom...

He started to walk after her, but then he saw something lying on the stairs. He frowned. Did Tsukino lose that when they collided? He picked the item up. It looked like a red pen with a golden-glittering cap, but on top of that cap, there was a golden ring surrounding the symbol of the planet Mars... but somehow, he doubted that this was a magical charm.

He looked up, but Tsukino was already gone. Oh well, he would just have to give it to Mr. Filch... he would make sure that students would retrieve their lost items.

He put the pen into his pocket and slowly walked upstairs. When reaching the upper corridor, he approached the door that lead into the Great Hall. But what he didn't notice was that the pen inside his pocket was starting to give off a glowing, red light, so bright that it shone right through his robes.

Finally, just before he wanted to go through the door, he blinked and looked downwards... directly into the red light.

"What in Merlin's name..." he grumbled and reached into his pocket. But when his fingers closed around the pen, his whole body got engulfed in the red light...

Dizzily, Snape stumbled backwards and hit the wall behind them. He rubbed his head... yes, this certainly was a great way of starting the school year. Obviously Miss Tsukino left that thing behind to play this joke on him... maybe she was more like a Weasley than like a Longbottom... now Snape was sure to give her some detention after the school year begun.

He glared down at the pen in his hands, but froze when he saw his hand. Never before had his fingers been so sleek, so... soft. And his nails seemed to finely manicured...

He looked down at his body... and gasped when realization struck him!

The door opened. Professor McGonagall, deputy headmistress and Head of Gryffindor, was taken aback when she nearly ran into a young girl with long, raven black hair that was standing in front of her.

"Young lady, what are you doing here?" she wondered. "The sorting ceremony is about to start."

The girl looked up at her with a bewildered expression. "Minerva..." she stammered. "I... I am..."

"You are one of the new foreign students the headmaster informed me about, aren't you?" McGonagall asked. "Well, let me tell you that in this school, students will address their teachers with 'professor', 'sir' or 'madam'. Is that clear?"

"B-but you don't understand, let me explain..."

"I understand that we are late for the sorting ceremony," the deputy headmistress interrupted her. "I was just going to greet the newcomers, so you better come along with me... ah, Setsuna! There you are!"

A young woman with shiny, dark green hair had appeared behind her. "So, ready for the ceremony, Minerva?" she asked. "Oh, you found one of my students! Excellent work!" She walked up to the female form of Snape and shook her head with a smile. "Honestly, Rei, I can't leave you girls by yourselves for a while. Didn't I tell you to wait for me in the Entrance Hall? Let me guess, it was Usagi who suggested to take a quick tour through Hogwarts before the school year begins, right?"

"Huh? B-but I'm not... I've never been..."

"So, where is Usagi right now?"

Snape, or rather Rei, as the strange woman had called her, gestured at the door further down the corridor with a dazed expression.

"Ah, so she already went ahead. Then we should hurry and go after her."

"I'm afraid I'll have to do this by myself, Setsuna," McGonagall intervened. "It is my job as the deputy headmistress to welcome all the new students. Please sit down at the teacher's table. Dumbledore will introduce you to the students when the time is right. Now Miss Hino, please do as Miss Meioh told you and follow me into the Entrance Hall."

She grabbed the confused girl's hand and dragged her along. Setsuna smiled and waved after her. "Have a nice school year!"

Rei was confused. What was going on? Who was that woman? Why did everybody believe she was a foreign student? And how did that pen turn her into a young girl? And most important, why did that name they gave her feel so... so familiar, so RIGHT?

Professor McGonagall shoved her through the other door, where a big group of new students was waiting for her. In front of the group, a blonde meatball head was waiting for her with a wide grin. "Rei-chan! Where have you been, slowpoke? Don't you think this is exciting? I can't wait to see what houses we'll be sorted in..."

That pulled Rei out of her confusion. 'House?' she thought. 'Sorted? ME?'

She really didn't like the way the school year was beginning...

* * *

Ron Weasley sat down at the Gryffindor table. His sister Ginny leaned over to him while his pet rat Scabbers peeked out of his breast pocket.

"Where are Harry and Hermione?" she whispered.

Ron shrugged. "McGonagall wanted to talk to them for a while. Dunno why, but if they stay away for much longer, they'll miss the sorting... Hey, Scabbers! Stay here!" He shoved the rat back into his pocket as it wanted to climb out. He shook his head. "Really, Hermione's new cat made him all nervous. He's not really like this."

"Sshh, I think the ceremony is about to start," his classmate Neville whispered.

"Hopefully the new Gryffindors will be good, so we can win the House Cup again," said the Near Headless Nick, Gryffindor's house ghost, who was sitting between Neville and Ginny.

Then the door opened and Professor McGonagall lead the new students into the hall. Ron was surprised to see that one or two of these new students looked like they weren't first graders. They rather looked like they were about his own age.

While the new students stood in front of the Sorting Hat, Harry and Hermione sat down next to him. "Glad we made it in time," Hermione smiled.

"What did McGonagall want?" Ginny asked.

"I'll tell you later, I wanna see the ceremony right now," Harry whispered back.

After the Sorting Hat recited his usual poem about the different houses, Professor McGonagall stepped in front of the new students. "Now, everyone of you will step up in the same order I'll read your names and put the Sorting Hat on. The name of the hose he will shout is the one you will sorted to. Understood? Good!"

Rei Hino, formerly Severus Snape, was getting more and more confused. He wanted to step up and tell everyone that he wasn't a new student, but who would believe him? He had never heard of a spell before that turned an adult wizard into a teenaged witch. And then, there was this unexplainable feeling of familiarity, like he was supposed to be in this situation...

Usagi nudged her. "Hey, are you sleeping, Rei-chan? She called your name, several times!"

Rei shook her head. Best was to get this over with as fast as possible. After the festivities were over, she would go to the headmaster and clear this up. For now, she just walked over to the chair and put the Sorting Hat on, so that her head vanished underneath.

"Hmmm..." came the all-familiar voice of the hat. "Now this is unusual... You are a determined girl, indeed... and you certainly don't want to accept anything just because it happened. But, there is also a certain amount of courage... and determination, oh yes!"

'Don't you dare and sort me into Gryffindor!' Rei thought resolutely.

"Not Gryffindor, are you sure?" the hat wondered. "Well, if you insist... but somehow, I have the feeling as if you have once worn me before, oh yes..."

Rei froze. Could it be possible that the Sorting Hat had recognized her? Maybe he would tell Minerva and put an end to this farce...

But then she imagined what would happen when every student in school would see her and realize that this schoolgirl was in fact their strict potions teacher, Severus Snape... the thought was embarrassing.

"Fine, if you don't want to go to Gryffindor... then I guess I'll just have to put you in SLYTHERIN!"

The hat shouted the last word out loud, and Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson and all the other students from Snapes own house applauded for the new Slytherin girl.

For now, Rei walked over to them and sat down next to Pansy. She could not wait until all of this was over...

One new student after the other was sorted into his or her new house, until it was finally 'Tsukino, Usagi's' turn.

Just a few seconds after the hat was put onto Usagi's head, the hat shouted: "GRYFFINDOR!"

Rei was surprised, but at least that bothersome girl wouldn't be in her own house...

When Usagi walked over to the Gryffindor table, she looked over to the Slytherins and gave Rei a huge grin.

"Is that a friend of yours?" Pansy Parkinson asked. "Too bad she became a Gryffindor... but don't worry, we can all tell you what to do. We'll win this year's House Cup, you'll see."

Rei nodded, but didn't really listen to her former student. She watched as Usagi sat down at the Gryffindor's table, where she was greeted by Weasley, Granger and Potter.

That girl... was the pen really from her? And if yes, why did she leave it? Did she actually know about its powers? She didn't seem too bright in Rei's eyes.

Finally, everyone was sorted into a house, and Dumbledore stood up at the teacher's table. Rei felt a tinge of disappointment, she was supposed to sit up there as well...

"Welcome to your new year in Hogwarts!" the headmaster said while the candle light was shining down on his impressive beard. "In a few minutes, delicious food will appear in front of your eyes, but before that, I have a few important things to tell you. As you might know, a few Dementors of Azkaban are in Hogwarts. They have searched the Hogwarts Express and are positioned at all entrances to the building. I want you not to leave school without permission, and please do not try to fool the Dementors with any tricks or illusions - don't give them any reason to harm you!"

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Now onwards to the more enjoyable news... I am glad to welcome three new teachers at our school. At first, let me welcome Professor Lupin, who agreed to assume the position as a teacher for Defence Against the Dark Arts."

While several students and teachers applauded, Rei couldn't feel but anger at the wizard in the shabby clothes. Not just because of the history she shared with that man, but also because he managed to take over the same position she had wanted to assume for quite a few years...

"Next, I must inform you that two of our old teachers have resigned from our school. Professor Kettleburn, our old teacher for Care of Magical Creatures, and Professor Sinistra, our teacher for Astronomy. Our new teacher for Care of Magical Creatures will be Rubeus Hagrid..."

Thundering applause filled the hall, especially coming from the Gryffindors. Hagrid stood up and waved. He looked very proud.

"And your new teacher for Astronomy will be Miss Setsuna Meioh."

The green-haired woman, who was exceptionally young for a teacher, also stood up for a short moment. Rei was surprised. The headmaster never mentioned that he had hired a new Astronomy teacher.

"As you might have seen, a few of our new students are old enough to enter the third grade. That is because they have moved here from faraway Japan, where there is a shortage of witches and wizards. Professor Meioh has accompanied them to make sure that they feel welcome at Hogwarts... which I am sure will be no problem. Well, that is all I have to say. Enjoy your meals!"

And then the usual feast appeared in front of the students, but Rei could not really enjoy her meal. She was hoping that this was over quickly, so she could talk to the headmaster in private...

At the Gryffindor table. Usagi had just introduced herself. "I guess I'm gonna be in your class," she giggled when Harry told her they were the third graders. "This is so cool, I mean, I never expected to be here. Hogwarts... wow!"

"I'm sure you'll like it here," Hermione smiled. "I'll have to show you the library one of these days." Harry and Ron rolled their eyes.

"You are speaking English very well," Ginny remarked. "Are you the only new Gryffindor from Japan?"

"I think so," Usagi nodded. She gestured over to the Slytherin table. "My friend Rei over there is the only other Japanese girl."

"She became a Slytherin?" Ron wondered. "Wow, that really sucks..."

Usagi shrugged. "As long as we can still see each other between lessons... oh, this is really good!" she mumbled as she stuffed some potatoes into her mouth.

"You're right about that, Hogwarts food is really..." A sharp hiss interrupted Ron and he looked down at the basket next to Hermione with a frown. "Do you have to keep that cat around?" he asked with annoyance. "You know how he's around Scabbers..."

"That's not true! You really can be annoying sometimes, Ron! Artemis would never harm a fly... isn't that right, Artemis?"

The white cat with the unusual crescent moon sign on its forehead purred as she gave him a tiny bit of chicken.

Usagi looked down at the cat while nobody else was looking. Artemis noticed her stare and winked. After a while, Usagi smiled and winked back. Then she resumed eating.

After the festivities were over, Rei tried walking over to the teacher's table right away, but Pansy stopped her. "Hey! Where are you going? Our common room is this way!"

"H-hey, let go!" Rei protested. "I need to talk to Professor Dumbledore..."

Pansy giggled. "You really think Dumbledore would bother with you now? You just arrived, girl! Wait until you helped Slytherin gain a few points, then you can ask our house teacher, Professor Snape, to take you to the headmaster."

Rei knew that Pansy couldn't possibly suspect that she was Severus Snape, but she still tried to struggle out of Pansy's grasp. "But I... you don't understand..."

"Hey, just be careful not to make our house lose some points because of your own reasons, okay?" Draco said as he glared at her. "We have lost too many times to those Gryffindors and perfect Potter... God, how I hate him and his oh-so wonderful scar..."

Rei could sympathize, but she still needed to reach the teacher's table before Dumbledore was gone. But, now that all of the others students were streaming towards the hall's exit, it was nearly impossible to go the other way, so she finally gave it up with a sigh and walked with the other Slytherins to their common room.

Up from the teacher's table, Dumbledore smiled as he watched after both Rei Hino and Usagi Tsukino. "Well, how did I do?" he whispered to Setsuna Meioh, who was standing next to him.

Setsuna smiled. "Excellent! I couldn't have done it better myself. Now we better leave, or else Mr. Filch will miss his new cat..."

Dumbledore smiled. "You're right, of course... Minerva, please make sure that this place gets cleaned up. I will go to bed now, I guess all these preparations have been a bit tiring..."

Professor McGonagall nodded. "I understand, sir!"

Dumbledore and Setsuna left the hall and entered a small room right next to it. In here, Setsuna carefully closed the door and made sure that nobody was around. Even all the paintings that usually hung in this room have been removed.

"I guess we are safe now," Setsuna said. 'Dumbledore' nodded.

Setsuna took out a shiny pen and held it into the old man's direction. "Turn her back," she commanded.

In a swirl of colorful lights, the figure of the headmaster shrunk down until only a small, black cat was left. She had the same crescent moon on her forehead as Artemis.

Luna shook her head. "Boy, that was weird. Taking human form is confusing enough, but impersonating a man as old as Dumbledore... really irritating, I'm telling you!"

"Still, I'm glad you did it," Setsuna smiled. "And I'm sure the real Dumbledore will give you his thanks as well, once he returns. But for now, I believe it's best if you go back to Mr. Filch."

Luna grimaced. "All right, but don't expect me to like him or his cranky old cat, Mrs. Norris... This time, Artemis really got the better part of the deal."

"And remember, be careful not to speak when students are around," Setsuna advised her. "We can't fail now, our plans are far too important! And all these Dementors around really don't make the job easier..."

* * *

"What did I do to deserve this?" Rei murmured to herself. She was lying in a bed in the Slytherin girl's dormitory. She had been very surprised to find luggage she had never seen before, but that was supposed to be hers. It contained school books, girl clothes (including a female Hogwarts uniform) and everything else a student at Hogwarts needed. If that was supposed to be a joke somebody played on her, that somebody took a lot of trouble to prepare all of this.

But while she might be wearing a girl's nightie right now, she was determined that tomorrow, she would go to the bottom of things. That new teacher, Miss Meioh - she was bound to know something. If that Rei Hino girl was an actual person, there must be a reason why she had to take her place. And while Severus Snape was willing to do much for this school and Dumbledore - playing the part of a young schoolgirl was not one of these things!

* * *

The next morning, when Rei woke up, she didn't open her eyes right away. She was hoping that if she opened her eyes, it would all have been a bad dream.

Her hopes were shattered when she opened her eyes and saw the long, black hair hanging in front of her face.

She grimaced. "What if all the other teachers would see me now... lying in the girl's dormitory, wearing a girl's nightgown. If they knew it was me, they would surely be quite amused... but this ends today, or my name is not Severus Snape!"

She dressed herself and went into the common room, where Pansy had been waiting for her.

"About time, sleepyhead," the other dark-haired girl smirked. "Here, I got these timetables from a Prefect. It says here that our first lesson today is Astronomy. You already know the way to the Astronomy tower, do you?"

Rei took the timetable reluctantly and nodded. "Yes, I know my way around Hogwarts, thank you very much..." she grumbled.

Pansy was taken aback. "Gee, are you always grumpy in the morning, or is this just how you are? Anyways, I'm kinda wondering what classes with Miss Meioh will be like... I always thought that Professor Sinistra was an old nag. Tell me, what's Miss Meioh like?"

'I wish I knew...' Rei thought to herself. 'I wish I knew...'

"We should hurry if we don't want to be late," she muttered and left the common room.

Pansy scratched her head. She couldn't make heads or tails of that girl.

* * *

Setsuna welcomed her new students in the huge Astronomy classroom in the Astronomy tower. Sometimes, they would have studies in the evening, so they would be able to study the stars more easily... but when Astronomy was the first lesson of the day, it was mostly a theoretical lesson.

"Hello everybody!" Setsuna greeted the Slytherins. "I am here to teach you more about the mysteries of the stars and planets. I am sure that Professor Sinistra has taught you many things, but let's see if there is something I can still put into those heads of yours."

Draco huffed as he sat down at his desk. "Great... our new Astronomy Teacher is a real joker..."

With a wave of her wand, Setsuna summoned a magical model of the solar system that was hovering across her students' heads. "Now, I'm sure that by now, you know of all the planets in our solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto."

"Excuse me, Professor!" Blaise Zabini raised his hand. "Isn't Pluto supposed to be a 'dwarf planet'?"

"No, it is NOT!" Setsuna hissed instantly. Blaise shrunk down in his desk. Rarely had he ever seen a teacher that upset, except maybe Professor Snape, when he was scolding Longbottom...

But Setsuna calmed down pretty quickly. "Listen to me, everyone, there might be a few narrow-minded folks that want you to believe that Pluto is a so-called 'dwarf planet', but believe me when I'm telling you that THIS IS NOT THE CASE! It is a full-fledged planet and will always be!"

"All... all right..." Blaise muttered weakly.

Satisfied, Setsuna nodded. "Now, let us talk about the moon..."

"The moon?" Draco huffed. "But that's basic stuff! We covered the moon the first year in Hogwarts!"

"I doubt that could have learned all of the mysteries that surround the moon within one single year, Mr. Malfoy. There are MANY thing humanity still doesn't know about the celestial bodies, and that includes the moon. Now, who can tell me how the moon is called in Latin?"

Pansy raised her hand. "It's Luna, ma'am."

"Excellent! Two points for Slytherin! Now, there are many names the moon has been called, and there have been many goddesses in human mythology, including Luna, Selene, Artemis, and many more. The moon has always inspired humans for aeons, but no tale is more mysterious than that of the Moon Kingdom.

Rei blinked. She had never heard of that one before.

"Moon Kingdom?" Pansy asked. "You mean a kingdom of people that have prayed to the moon?"

"No, I'm taking about a kingdom of people living ON the moon. Now, there is no proof that such a kingdom has ever existed, but I want you to know everything what ancient stories tell us about that kingdom."

General disappointment was taking over. "Oh great..." Crabbe groaned. "As if the lessons of Professor Binns weren't boring enough..." Next to him, Goyle nodded.

"I will pretend I didn't hear that for now, Mr. Crabbe!" Setsuna frowned. "Now, it is said that the Moon Kingdom was ruled by a queen, who was protected by a group of loyal, female warriors, the Sailor Senshi..."

* * *

When the lesson was over, Pansy and her friend Millicent walked over to Rei. "There's still some time left before Care for Magical Creatures begins... I'm telling you, this fool of a groundskeeper is always good for a laugh. You wanna come with us?"

Rei sighed. "I don't have the time, I have to talk to Professor Meioh. It is very important."

"Oh... okay, then maybe another time."

"Why are you even bothering?" Millicent whispered when she and her friend left. "That bitch obviously thinks she is so better than we are, just because she's Japanese..."

"I don't know... maybe she's just lonely," Pansy shrugged.

Millicent looked at her with wide eyes. "Don't tell me you pity that girl."

"Of course not!" Pansy snapped. "But she's a Slytherin, obviously. We need to make her feel as part of us, so she won't be slacking off. You want us to win the House Cup this year, do you?"

"Well... that's one way to see it, I think..." Millicent murmured.

Meanwhile, Rei was walking up to the desk. Miss Meioh was looking at her with an amused grin. She looked like she had already been waiting for her.

"Hello, Rei! So, how did you like your first day of school?"

"What is the meaning of this?" Rei shouted. "Is this some sort of conspiracy? There has never been a girl named Rei Hino, am I not right? There was only Severus Snape, and what became of him is standing right in front of you!"

Setsuna smirked. "Such temper... you really are suited for this role."

"What?"

"Never mind..." Setsuna sighed. "Listen, there is a good explanation for this..."

"An explanation? I don't care about your explanation! I demand that you turn me back to normal this instant, or I'll report you to the headmaster!"

"I'd like to inform you that the headmaster knows what is going on," Setsuna said in a serious tone of voice. "In fact, he was in favor of this plan."

"Plan? What plan?" Rei wondered. "Listen, I'm not in the mood for jokes. Whatever spell of charm you used to do this to me, take it off!" She pulled something out of her pocket and waved it around in front of the Astronomy teacher's face. It was the pen that started this whole mess. "It has to do with this thing, hasn't it?"

Setsuna smiled. "Bravo, you noticed that pretty well. Just so you know, that 'thing' is called a transformation pen, and it holds the power of Mars."

"Of... of Mars?" Rei wondered. She raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Since when does a planet have magical powers? Don't tell me you believe in the nonsense the centaurs are teaching..."

"I am telling you that once, there have been people who used the magic of the planets to protect a certain individual... and if you have listened to my lesson, you can already guess who that person is."

Slowly, it dawned to Rei. "The... queen of the Moon Kingdom?" she murmured. "But that story is..."

"It is not a mere legend, if that is what you're trying to say. In fact, I can say for certain that the Moon Kingdom has existed for a far longer time than any other human kingdoms on Earth."

"And how would you know that if the most skilled wizard researchers don't know about it?" Rei asked in a skeptical tone.

"Simple: I was there when the Moon Kingdom came to its end," Setsuna explained.

Rei snorted. "That's ridiculous! You would have to be ages old if that was true. And the Sorcerer's Stone wasn't even known in public back then."

"Nicolas Flamel is an old friend of mine," Setsuna frowned. "But I did not live this long because of his creation. I live this long because I am a Sailor Senshi. Sailor Pluto, to be exact!"

Rei blinked. "Sailor... Pluto?"

"That's correct! Sailor Pluto, Guardian of Time, at your service!"

Rei was confused. "But if all of this is true, then why... why did this transformation pen turn me into a girl?"

"Why, just because it recognized its rightful owner."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Simple, Rei-chan!" Setsuna chuckled. "The soul of the true Sailor Mars is sleeping within you."

Rei stared at the green-haired woman for a while. "You are lying..." she finally whispered.

Setsuna shook her head. "I assure you that I am not lying. After the last Senshi to carry that title died in battle, her soul searched for a new body to be reincarnated in. But for some reason, the huge amount of magical energy throughout Hogwarts attracted her soul like a firefly was attracted to the light. And for whatever reason, it chose you to be its new host. And ever since the soul of Sailor Mars entered your body, Rei's identity was dormant, deep inside you. The transformation pen just awoke your true heritage."

"What heritage?" Rei was furious. "I am Severus Snape, a male wizard and teacher, not a schoolgirl or a magical warrior of ancient times! That soul corrupted my body, so take it out!"

"I can't do that," Setsuna said in a sad voice. "Believe me, I would have tried that if I could. But your and Rei's soul have irrevocably merged with each other. You are now one. Congratulations, Severus Snape, you are now the new Sailor Mars."

Desperation was spreading through Rei's heart. "But... but that would mean my life as Severus Snape is over..." she muttered.

"No, you're wrong!"

Rei blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You can still live as Severus Snape AND as Rei Hino," Setsuna explained. "For now, you still have to learn using your new powers, as you have never used your Senshi form yet. But given a few months, I'm sure you'll be able to transform at will."

"If that is the case, I will turn back to normal as soon as I can and never turn back," Rei growled. "And when that happens, I will personally destroy this thing!" She shook the transformation pen around angrily.

"You do not want that," Setsuna said softly. "Believe it or not, but you are Rei Hino as much as you are Severus Snape. And if you try to suppress one half of your ability, you will only harm yourself. I will give you as much time to get used to this new situation as you need, but when you are ready, I would like to ask of you to help me."

"Help YOU?" Rei's eyes widened. "With what?"

Setsuna smiled. "Help me find the rest of our missing Senshi, of course! Usagi-chan and you are the only ones I managed to find. I'm sad that your memories haven't returned by this point, but that's okay... you will remember in time."

"There is nothing to remember! I am not that girl!"

Setsuna sighed. "Fine, I told you everything for my part. Now that you know what is going on, wouldn't you like to meet your teammate?"

"What? That klutz? No thank you!" Rei huffed and crossed her arms.

Setsuna couldn't help herself: She broke out in a fit of giggles.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY?"

"Oh, nothing!" Setsuna chuckled and wiped a tear out of her eye. "It's just that right now, you reminded me so much of the old Rei I knew, it was amazing! Very well, if you really want to believe me, let us talk to the headmaster. I am sure that he will be able to convince you."

Rei was surprised. "Dumbledore... knows about all of this?"

"Oh yes," Setsuna nodded. "And he's much more part of this than you might think... Shall we go, then?"

Rei raised an eyebrow. "And what about 'my' next lesson?"

"You are excused for now. Now come along, we don't want to keep the headmaster waiting."

* * *

"Lemon Drop!" Setsuna called out, and the gargoyle in front of Dumbledore's office moved aside. Rei followed the Japanese woman inside, hoping that the headmaster would be able to put an end to this farce.

They walked up the stairs until they were in front of the office's door. Setsuna knocked.

"I'm co-oming!" shouted a high voice, somebody giggled and a crash followed. "Oopsie!" the same voice exclaimed, and then the door opened up.

Rei stared at the blonde girl in the Gryffindor uniform. "Y-YOU?" she shouted. "What are YOU doing in the headmaster's office?"

"Nice to see you too, Rei-chan!" Usagi giggled. "Hi Setsuna! Did you tell her everything?"

"Well, almost! She didn't believe me, though, so I thought it would be best to bring her here."

"Okeydokey, then I guess it's best to turn back to old and wise, huh?" She raised a decorated brooch. "Moon Prism Power, turn me back to... oops, maybe I should include Rei this one time. She still has to learn how to do it herself, right?"

Setsuna nodded and Usagi raised her brooch again. "Moon Prism Power, turn us back to our old selves!" In a flash of bright, pink light, the forms of the two young schoolgirls vanished, and instead, two men appeared.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore smiled at the stunned face of Severus Snape. "Hello, Severus!"

"D-dumbledore!" Snape stuttered. "You... I mean, you and me... I..." He looked down and felt his whole body. "I'm back to normal!"

"In a sense," Dumbledore said in his calm voice. "Rei Hino is a part of you as much as Usagi Tsukino has become a part of me. I do not really know why exactly Miss Tsukino's soul chose me instead of someone else, but since so many people are telling me that I am one of the most powerful wizards in this time - which is still debatable - I believe that the soul of the Moon Princess and at the same time, leader of the Sailor Senshi, might have chosen me, Albus Dumbledore, for that reason. And after Miss Meioh explained everything to me, the memories started to come back, one after another." Dumbledore stroked his beard. "And I must say, I am quite flattered."

"That... that clumsy girl is supposed to be the Senshi's LEADER?" Snape barked.

"Usagi-chan may be clumsy, but she has a good heart and cares a great deal about every living thing on this planet," Setsuna explained. "As soon as Rei's memories come back, you'll realize that as well."

"Headmaster..." Snape hated nothing more but pleading, but he felt that he had no choice in this matter. "Please, tell me that you are not serious! You can't possibly accept what is happening. This woman is using us! What's keeping her from turning Hogwarts into her new kingdom? We should inform the ministry at once and..."

"Cornelius?" Dumbledore had to snicker. "Do you really want to tell HIM what happened here?"

Snape quickly deflated. "No... of course not..." he sighed. "But Dumbledore..."

"Severus!" Dumbledore said in a very stern voice. "I know this must be very confusing for you, but it is for the best. Believe me, your work as a teacher won't suffer from this. You will turn back to Severus Snape whenever you want to, once you've learned to use your pen. It is a gift, believe me! I've learned to appreciate it." He then took a look at a colorful magazine that was lying on his table and took a look at it. He smiled.

"This is ridiculous," Snape groaned. "Is this why I have proven myself to be your ally, Dumbledore? I was your spy when the Dark Lord was at the peak of his power, and I..." He hesitated when he saw how the headmaster wasn't listening at all.

That made him angry. "STOP READING MANGAS WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" And he snatched the manga out of Dumbledore's hands.

Dumbledore's lower lip quivered. "You're a meanie..."

"And you're a big crybaby!" Snape snorted and stuck out his tongue.

Dumbledore stuck out his tongue as well, causing Snape to stick his out even further.

Setsuna sweatdropped when she witnessed the all-familiar tongue war. She cleared her throat. "Um... gentlemen?"

Both Snape and Dumbledore stopped what they were doing. Dumbledore coughed and looked down at the floor in embarrassment, while Snape was downright shocked.

"Why... why on earth did we act like that?" he shouted.

Setsuna smirked. "Well, that's what happens if you suppress your other self for too long: She will break free even when you're yourself. Accept what you are, and you will have no such problems."

Snape clutched his head. What horror had his life become?

But... deep inside him, he couldn't help but feel... happy. Happy that he/she finally found her friend and princess...


	2. Harry Potter and the Naked Girl

"I can't believe you let yourself be bought by that girl just to sneak into Hogwarts," Luna grumbled as she and Artemis were wandering around the corridors.

"Hey, at least I'm not working for that grinch of a caretaker," Artemis retorted. "And it's warm and cozy in the Gryffindor dormitory..."

"In the GIRL'S dormitory, you mean!" Luna hissed. "I'm betting you're having fun watching Hermione and the other girls getting ready for bed, you peeping tom!"

"That hurts, Luna! Besides, do you know you have fleas?" the white tom asked as he scratched his ears.

"Is it my fault that Filch never gives Mrs. Norris a bath?" Luna grimaced. "That old hag of a cat is even more disgusting than a Youma that suffers from Spattergroit!"

Artemis was about to reply, when they came around the corner and saw the dark, robed figure of Severus Snape walk along the corridor.

"And you're saying that Rei's soul is within THIS guy?" Artemis whispered. "He looks as grumpy as Minako in the morning..."

"I was surprised at first, too," Luna said. "But he is Rei, I saw him transform with my own eyes. I pity him, though... he doesn't seem to remember anything from before Rei died, and I heard that he detests the idea of having to live as a young girl."

"I don't understand his problem..." Artemis murmured. "With his looks, I would be glad to look as young and healthy as Rei-chan..."

"Yes, but that's because you're a pervert," Luna stated. Artemis stuck out his tongue.

Just then, they heard the busy footsteps of two schoolgirls coming around the corner. They were wearing Slytherin colors.

"Professor, thank god we finally found you!" said one of the girls. It was Millicent Bulstrode. "We've been looking for you all over Hogwarts."

"I was busy. What seems to be the problem, Bulstrode, Parkinson?"

Pansy sniffed. "It's Draco, professor!" she whined. "That horrible brute of a groundskeeper - he sicked a Hippogriff on him!"

"A Hippogriff?" Snape asked. "Why would it attack somebody?"

"That's because that clumsy oaf Hagrid made Draco go to it even though he knew how dangerous it was!" Millicent seemed very angry.

Pansy sobbed. "Yes, you should have seen how miserable Draco looked, his robes were all bloody... Madam Pomfrey's taking care of him right now... but how could Dumbledore hire that careless man as a teacher?"

"We came to you because you are our House Teacher, sir!" Millicent said. "And we know we can rely on you. Please talk to the headmaster and ask him to remove Hagrid from his position. His way of teaching is clearly too dangerous!"

"I will see if I can talk to him tomorrow," Snape replied. Right now, he wanted to get away from Dumbledore's office as far as he could. "I always was against appointing Rubeus Hagrid as a teacher. Go to your next class, girls, I will make sure that something like that won't happen again."

Pansy and Millicent nodded and left, walking into the opposite direction of their teacher.

"Did you hear that?" Luna whispered. "Poor Hagrid... I've visited him before, and even though his dog doesn't seem to like me very much, he was a very gentle man, compassionate about his work, too. I can't imagine how he could have made a mistake like that."

"If that man is Rei, we must talk to him," Artemis suggested. "Maybe it was just an accident. What if he really tells the headmaster and then Hagrid will be fired..."

Luna smirked. "You haven't met the headmaster before, I doubt he'll do something like that. And I think Usagi-chan would like to have a word in that matter as well. But I'd like to talk to Snape anyways... I don't like his attitude. It's not becoming for a Sailor Senshi."

She ran after the potions teacher, followed by Artemis, who wondered what on Earth Usagi had to do with the matter.

"Severus?" Luna shouted. "I'd like to have a word with you."

Snape stopped and looked down in surprise. Seeing the two cats, he blinked. "Talking cats?" he wondered. "Oh, sure, why not? Everything seems to be crazy today, after all..."

"We haven't been introduced yet. I am Luna, an advisor of Sailor Moon... you might know her as Usagi Tsukino. And this is Artemis."

"Hi there!" Artemis said and raised his paw.

"Usagi Tsukino? You mean Dumbledore, don't you? What did you do to brainwash him? Was it done by some old magic from your so-called 'Moon Kingdom'? I don't want to be part of this farce anymore!"

"You are a fool!" Luna hissed. "Do you really think we could brainwash a man as powerful as Dumbledore? And we would never do that anyway. Your manners certainly leave a lot to be desired, Severus! You are a Sailor Senshi now, show some responsibility!"

"Enough of this!" Snape stepped forward with a menacing look on his face. "I haven't become a teacher at this school so I have to parade around in a schoolgirl's skirt and body, and certainly not to be lectured and insulted by a pair of fairytale cats! Find somebody else you can bother... I have work to do!"

And with these words, Snape turned around and hurried down the corridor, his robe waving behind him.

"I really don't like him," Artemis admitted.

"Neither do I, but we have to make sure that he embraces his identity as Sailor Mars, or else I'm afraid our princess will have to do with one less guardian..."

Artemis shook his head. "He will drive himself crazy if he continues like that... he still hasn't realized that Rei is part of him now. I wish the other Senshi were here to help... haven't you still found anyone else, aside from Usagi?"

Luna shook her head. "Sadly, no... but every day that passes, there is a slight chance that one of the other dormant Senshi awakes, somewhere within this castle..."

Artemis scratched his ear again. "I really wonder who else it could be... Goddammit, Luna, do something against those FLEAS!"

* * *

Snape spent his whole day in his office, preparing a very special potion. He knew it was his job as the potions teacher to do this, but there was also another reason why he did it: It helped him distract himself from his morning talk with Dumbledore and Setsuna.

But as soon as the potion was finished, his mind started to wander back to his new problems. He couldn't forget the bubbly, innocent girl Dumbledore had become. Would he act like this one day? He shuddered at the thought.

But he neither could forget the words of that black cat. Thinking about her made him angry again. Who was she, berating him like a young boy - or rather, like a young girl? He didn't have to stand for that!

When the potion had cooled off, he filled a good amount of it into a big cup and carefully carried it to the office of the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

But before he reached the door of Lupin's office, he once again felt the same tingling as yesterday. The transformation pen in his pocket glowed again and the same red light engulfed him. Within seconds, Rei Hino was back, dressed in the same Slytherin uniform she had put on this morning.

Rei groaned. She would give anything so she could just walk away. But she was still holding the wolfsbane potion, and as the potions teacher of Hogwarts, she had to do her duty.

Pulling herself together, she stepped up to the door and knocked. It wasn't like Lupin would recognize her, anyways.

For a while, nobody answered. Then a murmuring voice asked: "Yes?"

"P-professor Lupin?" Rei said through the closed door. "I, um, have your potion - Professor Snape told me to bring it to you."

"One moment please!" Rei heard how some rummaging, then the door opened... and she looked into the smiling face of a tall, brunette girl with a ponytail.

The tall girl looked surprised, but then she grinned. "REI??" she shouted with glee. "Oh, it's you, it's really you, this is so wonderful! I just recovered all my memories... isn't this school great? Oh yes, I've been here before... and then again, I haven't. Isn't that crazy? Come in, come in, we have so much to talk about..." She dragged Rei into the office and closed the door.

Rei was taken aback for a while. From somewhere deep within her mind, a single name came up.

"Makoto?" she murmured.

"It's me!" the girl also known as Sailor Jupiter grinned. "But then again, I'm also Remus Lupin... thanks for the potion, by the way!" She took the cup and put it on the desk. "Now, start talking, girl! Do you know what happened? Have you found Usagi already? Who is your other self?"

For now, Rei decided to only answer one question.

In a very strained voice, she grumbled: "I am... Severus Snape!"

Makoto's eyes bulged out. Her index finger rose. "S-snape?" she stuttered. "Y-you?" Then she snorted. And then she giggled. And after that, she broke out into laughter. "Bwahahahahahah! That's too rich! That's just too rich! Severus Snape, Senshi of Mars! Hahahahahah!"

"Stop laughing, Lupin!" Rei snapped. "I don't see anything remotely funny about it!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry... but you really should start calling me Makoto when I'm like this. And why are you acting like this? Aren't you glad that two of us Senshi are already reunited?"

"I will never be a Senshi!" Rei shouted.

Realization dawned. "You... don't remember anything at all, do you?" Makoto asked. She sighed. "Oh Rei, that's... I'm sorry, Snape, I didn't know. As soon as I realized what was going on, I was able to call upon the memories of my former life as a Senshi. I thought it was the same with everyone else..."

"Obviously, it is not," Rei grumbled. "And Miss Meioh even told me that it would take some time for the memories to return..."

"Setsuna? Oh right, she's the new astronomy teacher. Gosh, having two sets of memories in your head is so weird." She grinned again. "But still, I wouldn't miss this in the world. A chance to be two persons at the same time... not many people have that chance!"

"If I could, I would like to do without such a chance..." Rei murmured. "If you'd excuse me, I'm leaving. Walk around in a girl's dress as much as you want, Lupin... I, for my part, have to prepare for my next lesson."

Makoto raised her eyebrow. "As a student or a teacher?" she wondered. At Snape's upset glare, she couldn't help but giggle again.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Rei frowned.

"Nah, I've prepared everything for my first lesson with the Gryffindors... I can't wait to see how James' son will fare in my lessons. Right now, I was just making a few cookies. There's no oven in here, but hey, that's what wands are for, right?" She twirled her own wand on her fingertip and smiled. "I conjured up a small, magical oven by myself. They're nearly done... you want a few?"

Rei stared at her colleague and fellow Senshi. "Since when... can you cook?"

Makoto smirked. "All I can advise you is: Try to remember, Rei-chan! Try to remember!"

* * *

Over the following days, Snape was forced to switch between his roles as a teacher and student frequently. Every time his potion classes started, he turned back into his male self, though, so he had enough time to prepare the classroom for his students. The other Slytherins started to wonder why Rei was never present during potions, but Snape simply told them that he was excused from his lessons because she had an allergy against certain herbs that were often used in potions.

In every other subject, Rei had appeared at least once during the first few weeks, though, giving not only the Slytherins, but also the other students from Hogwarts a chance to get to know this new, foreign girl. While most Gryffindors were acting suspiciously, since she was a Slytherin, they had to admit that she wasn't as terrible as Slytherin students normally were... In fact, Rei rarely spoke with others unless she was addressed. That gave her the reputation of being an eccentric girl that preferred to stay by herself.

If it wasn't for Usagi, Rei's reputation would have gone completely downwards. The bouncy blonde appeared regularly alongside her dark-haired 'friend' and always greeted her in a cheerful manner. Usagi's innocent charm earned her many friends throughout the houses of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. And many students figured that if Usagi was such a nice girl, Rei couldn't be all bad. When Usagi was asked about her, she simply stated that 'Rei-chan' was terribly shy.

The Slytherins were mostly annoyed by Usagi's behavior. They loved to call her a naive ditz and quite often tried to play pranks on her. Strangely, they never worked on the energetic girl. And when Malfoy tried to make fun of her, she just giggled alongside the laughing Slytherins.

"It makes me so mad!" Malfoy grumbled when he was sitting behind Pansy and Rei in History of Magic. "Does that girl even realize when I'm mocking her or is she just too stupid to realize when she's been insulted."

"She's a Gryffindor, and we all know that they got some strange people in there," Pansy remarked. "Take Weasley, for example... did you hear that his family has a GHOUL in their attic? Yuck!"

Rei stayed silent. She never took part in these conversations because talking about Usagi would be both awkward and irritating. She wondered what the other students would say if they found out that Usagi was in reality their headmaster.

But she also didn't understand Dumbledore either. If he and Lupin were already able to control their transformation powers, why did they want to be students... and female, on top of that? She started to suspect that they both had a screw loose...

But after the first three weeks as Rei were over, Snape felt something within his mind every time he saw Makoto or Usagi... some strange feelings he couldn't understand. Whenever he saw Makoto as Rei, he had the image of a good friend, a strong buddy and a wonderful cook. Usagi, on the other hand, was still a klutz in her mind, but also the best friend a girl could ask for...

It was times like those when Snape questioned his own sanity. Were Miss Meioh and those cats really brainwashing him... or did he indeed remember glimpses of another life? And why did he have the feeling that there were other girls missing?

After finding out that Lupin was Makoto, both Dumbledore and Setsuna were very glad. Dumbledore instructed Professor McGonagall to prepare a private sorting for Makoto in her office. Like Usagi, Makoto got sorted into Gryffindor. From that day on, the two girls were rarely seen without each other.

Like Snape, Lupin never visited his own lessons as Makoto. He told the other students that Makoto was so skilled at DADA, that he gave her private lessons. When several students asked him for the same, he apologized by telling them that Makoto was a special case, since her DADA grades from the former school year have been almost perfect. That silenced most of the applicants.

One time, when Rei was standing at an open window in the library, she looked down at the lake and wondered if Makoto was right and she really should give having fun as her female self a try.

While she was having these thoughts, she watched the school premises. A sudden movement at the lake's shore made her lean further out of the window. A yellow-furred animal was walking along the lake, carrying a huge, wooden stick.

Rei instantly knew that this wasn't any dog she had seen before. Not in Hogsmeade and certainly not in Hagrid's hut. She was no animal expert, but she believed the beautiful animal to be a Labrador Retriever.

The dog dropped the stick and suddenly, looked up at her. It could be a mere coincidence, but it seemed like it was looking directly into her eyes. And then it started wagging its tail.

Rei continued to look down for a couple of minutes, but then she shook her head and walked out of the library.

* * *

At the end of September, Harry and Ron were sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room, staring down at the parchments they were holding. Hermione was sitting near the fireplace. She was stroking Artemis' fur, and the white Mau purred with delight.

Ron looked back at her. "Are you sure you can't give us a hint, Hermione? This homework Trelawney gave us is hell!"

"I think that by doing your homework by yourself, you will get much better in any subject, Ron!" Hermione responded.

"Is that what you think of Trelawney's lessons?" Harry wondered. "I thought you didn't believe in her predictions..."

"Of course I don't!" Hermione said in a grumbling voice. "Still it can't hurt to improve your grades a bit, can it?"

Ron was about to say something else, when the door opened and two girls came in.

Usagi waved. "Hiii, guys!"

Hermione smiled. Seeing Usagi always cheered her up, for some reason. "Hey, Usagi, Makoto!"

Harry nodded towards them as well before looking back at his parchment. "Hi!"

"What's up?" Ron mumbled without really looking at them.

Makoto grinned. "You heard that the Quidditch season is about to begin, right? Katie told me that the tryouts will be any day now, and I'm tempted to give it a try."

"Sounds like a good idea, Makoto," Hermione said. "You seem like a pretty athletic girl."

Usagi grinned. "You know, I never tried flying on a broomstick before. Maybe I should give it a try as well..."

Makoto smirked. "Excuse me when I say this, Usagi-chan, but I bet that the poor broomstick will crawl away when it realizes how clumsy you are."

Hermione and the boys chuckled, while Usagi pretended to be offended. "Meanies!" she said and stuck out her tongue. Then she said. "Awww, it's just not the same without Rei-chan..."

"Sorry, no one here you can have a tongue war with," Ron smirked. Rei's and Usagi's tongue duels have become infamous by now.

Then Harry realized something. "Say, how come there are tryouts at all? Our team is complete, isn't it?"

"Not quite," Hermione said. "Didn't you hear? Alicia had a nasty accident during summer and can't fly this year."

"Ah, that's too bad," Ron said. "She's our second best Chaser."

"Yeah, and don't forget that the Slytherins have a new substitute Keeper, since a Bludger hit him in the face during training," Harry added. "I heard Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson whisper about it during potions."

"Hey, no worries," Makoto said. "If Wood decides to choose me, I'm gonna give those Slytherins a run for their money!"

Artemis hated to be ignored and let out a pitiful meow. Hermione looked down at him in surprise. "Oh, I forgot to feed you, didn't I? Poor Artemis, I'm sorry... Wait, I'm gonna give you something good."

"Here, try these!" Makoto said and took out a small plastic bag. "My newest creation: Mini-Pumpkin Pasties! As delicious as the original ones and digestible for owls and cats.

"Aww, I wanna try one, too!" Usagi pleaded.

"Oops, I totally forgot to feed Hedwig, too," Harry said. "I bet she's up in our dormitory, all upset... Makoto, can I have one of those as well? Special treats always help to stay on Hedwig's good side..."

Makoto tossed him one. "Here, she'll love it!"

"Thanks!" Harry said and walked up into the boy's dormitory.

Ron started to groan. "I can't do this anymore! Hermione, I beg you: Help me! At least with this one question!"

"Oh, all right!" Hermione grumbled reluctantly. "What seems to be the problem?"

While Hermione was looking at Ron's parchment, Makoto leaned over to Usagi and whispered: "Do you have them with you?"

Usagi nodded. "Yeah, in my pocket, both of them. Setsuna said that the pens will start to react as soon as the other Senshi will be close by... just as it happened with Rei. And even if they aren't around, we can tell if they are sleeping in these rooms..."

"It would be so cool if Ami or Minako were Gryffindors too..." Makoto grinned.

Suddenly, a soft glow came out of Usagi's pocket. The two Senshi blinked. "What the...?"

* * *

Harry entered the dormitory. "Hedwig, sorry that I forgot to feed you, but..." He stopped. Hedwig's cage was lying on the floor, but that was not the strangest part of it. It was completely destroyed, as if a giant had plucked out its bars like the petals of a flower. A trail of owl droppings and feathers was leading behind his bed.

"Hedwig?" Harry murmured and slowly walked around the bed. He heard somebody rummaging around.

He was shocked when he stepped around his bed and saw a girl crouching on the floor... a cute-looking girl with short, blue hair who was throwing books out of his bag.

And she was completely naked.

Makoto's Mini-Pumpkin Pasties dropped out of Harry's hand and rolled over the floor.

The naked girl turned around... and a huge smile appeared on her face when she saw the baffled boy in front of her.

"Harry!" she shouted and tried standing up. But her legs were a bit wobbly, so she decided to stay at the ground and nuzzle his legs instead. "I was so hungry that I decided to search in your bag for something to eat. I'm sorry for the mess I made, I guess I'm not used to walk on two legs... can you teach me?"

It took Harry a while until he realized who this girl was. "H-hedwig?" he muttered.

He heard footsteps coming behind him, but he simply couldn't avert his eyes from the bosom of the girl that had been his owl just minutes ago.

Usagi, Makoto, Ron and Hermione appeared in the room.

"Harry, what's going on...?" Hermione asked, then she let out a small yelp. "HARRY! Wh-what... what are you DOING with that girl??"

"Wicked, man!" Ron sounded very impressed. "I never knew you had it in you, Harry!"

Usagi, on the other hand, let out a squeal of glee and pulled the nude girl to her feet. "AMI-CHAN!" she shouted as she bounced up and down. "I've missed you sooo much!"

Makoto smiled. "Ami! Good to see you, girl! But... don't you think you should put on some clothes?"

Ami blinked, then she quickly covered her private parts. "Oops! Tee hee, I knew there was something... could you bring me some, please?"

"I'm on my way," Makoto nodded as she ran over to the girl's dormitory. In the meantime, Ami covered herself with Harry's blanket.

By now, Hermione had overcome her surprise. "All right, what's the meaning of this? Harry, who is this girl and how does she come into your bedroom? And Usagi, you know her?"

"Yup!" Usagi grinned. "This is Ami-chan, an old friend of ours!"

"And she... likes to sneak into boy's bedrooms in the nude?" Ron asked. He wished all the girls were like that...

"But you don't understand," Harry said. "That's Hedwig!"

Hermione, Usagi and Ron blinked. Then, Hermione snorted. "Sure, and I'm Norbert..."

"Hermione, you just were sarcastic!" Ron was so impressed that he nearly forgot about the nude girl in the same room. Not completely, though.

"Hedwig?" Usagi wondered. "Oh, your owl, right?"

"He's right," Ami said in an uncomfortable voice. She was still beet red. "I'm still not used to being human."

"You're kidding!" Hermione blurted out. "It's really you? Hedwig, since when...?"

"Ami, please!" the blue-haired girl said. "At least when I'm a human."

"Okay, Ami... since when are you a Animagus?"

"She isn't," Usagi sighed. "And it's a long story..."

"A story where owls turn into cute girls? I've GOT to hear that one!"

Ami blushed even more at Ron's compliment.

"Okay, but not until the girl wears some decent clothes," Makoto said as she came back from the girl's dorm. "I've brought some clothes, so give Ami some privacy, will ya?"

"Do I have to?" Rin asked. He winced when Hermione hit his arm. "I mean, no problem!" He and Harry got pulled out of the room by Hermione.

"Thanks, Mako-chan!" Ami said when the brunette gave her one of her Gryffindor uniforms.

"No problem!" Makoto winked. "And I even stand guard while you're changing, in case any boys show up."

"Still, I'm kinda feeling bad. I mean, it is their dormitory..."

"Gee, if you don't hurry, all you'll have to apologize for is indecent exposure," Usagi remarked.

Upon hearing that, Ami hurried to get dressed. She hesitated when she took Makoto's bra, though. "Um, do I have to wear that? It's not even my cup size..."

Usagi sighed.

While Ami was getting dressed, the others waited downstairs in the common room. They were lucky, the only one that came in was Colin Creevey. He looked at Makoto in confusion.

"Um, what is she doing in front of your dormitory?" he asked.

Hermione tried very hard to come up with a plausible excuse. "Um, there's... a really big cockroach in there, and Makoto makes sure that nobody gets in there until the problem is taken care of."

A loud crash could be heard from upstairs, and a loud voice yelled: "Stand STILL, will ya?"

Colin sweatdropped. "Gosh, that's got to be one giant cockroach..." he murmured as he left.

Ron looked at Hermione. "A cockroach? Is that the best you can come up with? Hermione, you are really bad at lying..."

"Oh, shut up, Ron..." she grumbled.

When Ami and Usagi came downstairs, Ami was still waddling a bit. She looked very uncomfortable.

"Ami, you understand the concept of clothing, do you?" Usagi asked.

Ami blushed. "But, that bra was pinching... do humans have to wear such constrictive things?"

Harry blushed as well, and Ron decided not to say anything after Hermione glared at him.

Makoto sighed. "Ami, there's something called modesty. You don't want the boys to stare at your breasts all the time, do you?"

"Besides," Usagi giggled. "There's no way that thing could have pinched. It's one of Mako-chan's bras, and you'd never completely fill one of her mammoth cups."

"Thank you very much, Usagi!" Makoto grumbled.

"Could we PLEASE change the subject?" Hermione insisted. "There are boys present, you know? So would you finally explain to me how Hedwig could have turned into a girl?"

The three Senshi in civilian clothes looked at each other with worry. Even Artemis, who was still sitting next to the fire, hoped that Usagi's honesty wouldn't get them in trouble now.

But fortunately, Usagi's honesty had to struggle with Dumbledore's secrecy, so her mind settled on the half-truth.

"Okay, please don't tell this anyone else, but... Ami-chan... is an old friend we've been looking for," she finally said. "That's the reason why we and Setsuna came here... we know that our friends are somewhere hidden in Hogwarts. They could be in the guise of anyone... and they won't remember anything until we bring THESE close to them." And she produced the transformation pen of Mercury, which she handed over to Ami.

"My transformation pen!" Ami said. "Thanks, Usagi!"

"ANYONE?" Ron wondered. He suddenly felt very nervous. "Even me?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ron!" Hermione snorted. "You don't exactly look like a girl to me."

"Well, but... Hedwig didn't exactly like a human, either," Harry pointed out. He suddenly realized that all these years, he had been sleeping close to an owl... who in reality was an extremely cute girl.

"But... I mean, Ron?" Hermione shook her head. "No way!"

"I don't think that Ron is one of our missing friends either," Makoto said. "But it's still possible."

"Wicked..." Ron murmured. That thought was somehow both cool and bothersome at the same time.

"But how did they get here in the first place?" Harry asked. "I mean, Hagrid bought Hedwig for me in Diagon Alley, it was just a coincidence that she came to Hogwarts."

"True, but Hogwarts' huge concentration of magical energy attracted many of their souls," Makoto explained. "And when Ami's soul found Hedwig, they merged."

That thought was even more bothersome for Ron. "You mean... if one of these souls finds me... I could become a girl as well?" He shuddered.

"That's... that's... seriously, that can't be true! Do you think Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have already found out about those souls?"

"Well, I think he already knows..." Usagi said sheepishly.

"But why their souls?" Harry asked. "Did they die or something?"

"Harry, that's a really long story," Ami said. "Let's just say that we have fought in a very violent battle and that most of us didn't come out of it alive... but instead of becoming ghosts or passing on like most souls do, we were attracted to Hogwarts. While I remember everything from my life as Hedwig... I also have all the memories of Ami Mizuno, a Japanese girl."

"We can trust you, can we?" Usagi pleaded. "Please don't tell anyone else..."

"Sure, we can keep a secret," Ron said.

Harry nodded as well. "No problem! Hermione?"

Hermione hesitated. "I... still have trouble believing everything you said, but... I know you're good guys. And you wouldn't do anything that gets us into trouble, would you?"

The Senshi shook their heads. "Never," Usagi swore.

Hermione smiled. "All right, then I guess you can count on me, too."

"Oh, that's great!" Usagi squealed happily. "I've got to tell Rei-chan the good news!" And she dashed off. She was in such a big hurry that she slammed the painting of the Fat Lady, which was hanging in front of the Gryffindor Common Room's exit, against the wall.

"HEY! Be a bit more careful, okay?" the Fat Lady complained and rubbed her nose.

"Sorrysorrysorry!" Usagi shouted as she ran down the corridor.

* * *

Rei was sitting in the library, reading a book about old potion recipes. She was impatiently waiting for the next time she turned back into Severus Snape.

She was startled when a pair of hands were put on her shoulders from behind. "All right, that's enough moping around in the library!" Pansy sternly said. "Do you like being seen as an outcast, Rei? You have to come out of your shell a bit more, have some fun, hang out with friends, tease the losers from Hufflepuff..."

Rei sighed. "I'm sorry, Pansy, but I don't think it would be a good idea to..."

"To what?" Pansy asked as she put her hands on her hips. "I always thought that Millicent was wrong when she said that you're thinking you're better than us."

"That's... that's not what I mean," Rei said. "Believe me, I have nothing against you, but..."

"Okay, then you don't mind if we try to find a nice afternoon activity for you, do you? I mean, you're always hanging around the library or wherever. Sometimes it is very hard to find you at all. One time, I woke up in the middle of the night and saw that your bed was empty. I mean, what's up with that? You need a hobby, girl!"

Rei realized that there was no way Pansy would leave her alone until she agreed. "All right," she sighed. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, you tell me! Don't you have any interests besides reading?"

"Well, I... I really like to sing," Rei said, then she blinked in surprise. Where did that come from? Severus Snape had never been a good singer.

Pansy smiled. "Good, that's something, isn't it? Anything else?"

"Pansy, I don't think that..."

A loud yelp of surprise suddenly made them turn around. A few shelves further to their left, Theodore Nott, another Slytherin from their class had collided with a blonde girl with blonde twin ponytails.

"Hey, can't you watch where you're going, you stupid klutz?" Nott yelled.

Usagi winced. "I'm so, so sorry, but I'm looking for my friend Rei-chan..."

"You're a Gryffindor, aren't you? So why do you think a Slytherin would want to stay around you? Get lost, freak!"

"Hey, that's no way to talk to a lady, you meanie!" Usagi said as she angrily walked closer to him.

"What the hell do you want? Leave me alone, loser!" And he angrily shoved Usagi against the bookshelves.

"Oof!" Usagi said as she stumbled down to the floor. "Ouch!"

"Excuse me for a moment..." Rei snarled as she walked over to the pair. "Hey, Nott!"

"Huh? Oh, it's you, Rei! Can you believe that klutz? Says she wants to talk to you. Feh, as if any good Slytherin would want to get near that bimbo..."

POW!

Nott cried out in surprise and rubbed his face, where Rei had just punched him. "Wh-what are you doing? Are you nuts?"

"Say one mean thing about her again, and I'll make sure you won't be able to leave the Hospital Wing for a week!"

"Are you honestly defending that loser? Man, I always knew you were weird... And you call yourself a Slytherin?"

That earned him another close encounter with Rei's fist.

"All right, you bitch... if that's how you wanna play..." And he pulled out his wand.

But a swift kick from Rei's foot made him clutch his wrist in pain, and the wand clattered across the floor.

Pansy was dumbfounded. She couldn't believe her eyes. Usagi was almost as surprised at her friend's reaction.

Suddenly, the librarian, Mrs. Pince, came around the corner. "WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?" she yelled. "Stop the fighting, at once! This is an outrage! I demand an explanation!"

Rei stepped back and looked down at the floor. She couldn't believe what she did either. 'Why was I so protective of Usagi?' she thought to herself.

Nott massaged his wrist and then accusingly pointed at Rei. "That stupid girl hit me without any reason! I barely had the time to defend myself and..."

"That's not true!" Pansy spoke up. Both Nott and Rei looked at her in surprise.

"Oh? So, what happened, Miss Parkinson?" Mrs. Pince asked.

Pansy glared at Nott. "Rei saw how he hassled that girl and tried to stop him. He wanted to pull out his wand, but she kicked it out of his wand before he could cast any spells."

Rei couldn't believe her ears. That was the first time Pansy Parkinson had ever stood up for someone else.

"What are you doing, Pansy?" Nott spat. "I thought you were on my side!"

"I'm not siding with anyone who wants to hex my friend!" Pansy replied in an angry tone of voice.

Nott growled. "I can't believe you're siding with those weirdos..."

"That's quite enough, young man!" Mrs. Pince barked. "I've heard enough! Dumbledore will hear about this, as will your house teacher, and I will make sure that you get detention."

'Oh yes,' Rei thought with satisfaction. 'And 20 points of deduction for Slytherin!' She then shook her head. 'What am I talking about? Slytherin is MY house.'

Mrs. Pince then looked into her direction. "I must say that I am impressed by your moral courage, but that still doesn't give you the right to start a fight in the library while you could have simply called me. That's 5 points less for Slytherin!"

Usagi stood up. "Are you all right, my dear? Maybe you should go and see Madam Pomfrey..."

"I am fine, ma'am! Thanks for the worry!"

Mrs. Pince nodded and shoved the protesting Nott away.

"Um, th-thanks for helping me, Rei-chan... and thanks to you, too, Pansy!"

"Well, um... I... I just didn't like his attitude," Pansy muttered. She hoped her friends would never learn that she just helped a Gryffindor.

"You... wanted to talk to me?" Rei asked.

Usagi nodded. "Oh yeah, I just wanted to tell you that we found Ami-chan! Isn't that great? Soon, we'll all be together again... oops, maybe I should go! See you later!" And she ran off.

Pansy wondered what the blonde girl had been talking about, but then she shrugged. It was none of her business. She then had an idea.

"Say, Rei-'chan'..." she smirked. "Did you hear that Flint can't fly for our team the next game because he was hit by a bludger?"

"Really? Oh, that's too bad... maybe we can find a substitute..."

Pansy grinned. "You know, you really have a well-trained body... have you ever considered playing Quidditch?"


	3. Prefect of Destruction?

Rei was hurrying down the stairs, her mind in a haze. She? A Quidditch player? In her former school years as Severus Snape, she had never even thought about playing Quidditch.

Oh yes, Severus Snape had always been an outcast, even among his fellow Slytherins. He was shy, withdrawn and not particularly athletic. And then that Potter boy always had to point out that 'Snivellus' would never make a good Quidditch Seeker as him...

But now? Now she was not only good-looking, but also fairly athletic, if that encounter with Nott was anything to go by. And for the first time in her new identity, she felt... content. She had experienced something she had never been part of before. Still, she was a girl... and she knew that she was meant to be an adult by now.

But she did not decline when Pansy asked her to come to the Quidditch tryouts, did she?

She tried so hard to come up with a plausible explanation for these sudden feelings of joy that she didn't look where she was going and ran into someone who had been standing in her way. A pile of schoolbooks was falling down to the ground.

She bent over to pick the books up at the same time as the tall boy she had collided with. "I'm sorry, I didn't see where I was... going?"

When her hand reached out for one of the books, she and the boy looked into each other's eyes. And she realized that the boy's face was... handsome.

He smiled. "That's okay! Lots on your mind? Yes, school can do that to you..."

"Yes..." she mumbled as she handed him the book she was still holding. "Yes, definitely..."

"Well, no harm done!" he said and accepted the book. "Hey, I've never seen you before. Aren't you one of the new students from Japan?"

"Y-yes, that's... that's right..."

He offered her his hand and she took it without thinking about it further. "Welcome to Hogwarts, then! I hope you like it here. You are a Slytherin, aren't you? Please, don't think that would bother me. I think that differences between houses shouldn't stop us from getting acquainted with each other. My name's Cedric... Cedric Diggory! What's your name?"

"Rei!" she answered without hesitation. "Rei Hino!"

"Nice to meet you, Rei!" Cedric said. "Sorry, but I have to hurry, or Professor Flitwick will wonder where I am. I don't want you to be late to your lesson, either. Maybe we'll see each other again. See you later!" And he ran off.

Only now did Rei realize how her hands were shaking. She shook her head. What was wrong with her? Diggory was a good student, sure, and he wasn't exactly ugly... but that shouldn't be reason enough for her to be so awestruck in his presence.

A slight chuckle coming from down below made her turn her head. "Luna?"

The black moon cat shook her head in amusement. "You really like to attract the attention of boys, don't you, Rei?"

It took her a moment to realize what Luna was talking about. "WHAT?" she nearly screamed. "That was... how dare you accusing me of something like that? I am a teacher after all... AND male! And if Diggory tries to do anything funny the next time we meet..."

"Oh, give the poor boy a break, all he did was being a perfect gentleman. And don't try to deny it, the look you gave him was unmistakable: You thought he was cute!"

"That's n-not true," Rei stuttered.

"Then why are you blushing?" the Mau smirked.

Embarrassed, Rei turned around and frowned. The worst part was that Luna was right: She did blush like a schoolgirl with a crush. How embarrassing...

"How could that happen to me?" she whispered.

Surprised, Luna stood up from the ground. "Rei?"

The dark-haired girl's shoulders were quivering. Was she... crying?

"Whatever did I do to you?" Rei whispered. "As if my life wasn't troublesome enough... the teasings back at school... the position as a DADA teacher I never got... my work as a teacher... the Death Eaters... my spy work for Dumbledore... why do things like that keep happening to me? Why me? Why couldn't you choose something else?"

Rei turned around, and indeed, Luna could see that tears were flowing down her face. Rei was bawling her eyes out. "And why can't I stop crying?" she sobbed. "I'm not like this... I never was... what have you done to me?" She crouched down at the bottom of the stairs.

Luna realized how the girl's unfamiliar emotions were running amok. She approached the crying Rei with pity and sat down next to her.

"Rei," she calmly said. "I know it isn't fair. Your soul chose this body on its own, I don't know the reason. But please, try not to see this as a curse anymore. You have been given the chance to see your life from two different perspectives, and you've given a second youth. Isn't that a wonderful gift?"

"A life as a girl!" Rei cried. "A whiny, weak, pitiful girl, that's what I've become..."

Luna frowned. "Is that what you really think about us? And here I thought you knew better..."

Rei was taken aback. "I'm s-sorry, Luna, I didn't mean... I completely forgot for a while that you are a girl as well."

"It happens," Luna sighed. "But honestly, I don't really think that you really believe all that. You have lived a hard life as Severus Snape, and the same goes for your second identity as Rei Hino. Rei had to overcome a few obstacles as well before she could call herself a full-fledged Senshi. But after she met Usagi and her friends, she got much happier. And I believe the same goes for Severus Snape... you've had your childhood friends as well, didn't you?"

Rei gasped. Could she really know?

"Rei... no, Severus... you should know that she always was your friend, no matter what happened."

"But how... how do you know?" Rei whispered.

"Life and death are curious things, don't you agree?" Luna asked. "The souls of the Sailor Senshi have found new bodies to start a second life... the Dark Lord was able to cheat death with Quirrell's help... and my soul entered the body of a mooncat as soon as I felt that you needed help."

Rei picked the black cat up from the floor and looked into her eyes. And deep within those eyes, she recognized...

"Lily..." she whispered.

"Yes..." the black cat with the soul of Lily Potter's soul nodded. "Yes, it's me!"

And then Rei felt unable to say anything else. She just hugged the soft body on her lap and continued to sob. It seemed ages ago since Severus Snape had cried the last time... and knowing that the only one who knew was his old friend, the one he fell in love with at one point of his life.

For a while, they just sat there.

Suddenly, a white shape came running past the corner. "Luna, you won't believe what I've found..." Artemis stopped in surprise when he saw Luna in Rei's arms.

For some reason, that made him pretty jealous. "Hey, what do you think you're doing with her?"

"Artemis!" Luna shouted. "Calm down, I'm just trying to help her cope with everything."

"He needs help?" Artemis frowned. "And here I always thought Severus Snape doesn't need any help..."

Rei put Luna down to the floor and glared at the white tom angrily. "What's it to you? Do you know anything about my life at all?"

"Much more than you'd think," Artemis glowered. "And I know how slimy you can be, and I doubt Rei's influence is enough to keep you out of trouble. So stay away from my mate, Snape!"

"Artemis, that's enough!" Luna hissed. "What's your problem?"

"HIM!" Artemis shouted and pointed his paw at Rei. "He hasn't changed a bit, and because of that, Rei can't break free from the bonds he created in his mind. He's still the cynical, whiny, pitiful boy from..."

"DON'T LECTURE ME!" Rei shouted as she reached for her wand.

"Rei! Artemis! Please, I don't want you two to..."

"BUT IT'S THE TRUTH, ISN'T IT, SNIVELLUS?" the white tomcat yelled.

Rei's wand clattered down to the floor. She stared at the male mooncat with disbelief.

"P-potter?" she murmured. "Is that you?"

"What did you expect?" he hissed. "Somebody has to protect Lily from slime like you!"

"James! I mean, Artemis! What did Setsuna tell us? Never use our old names while we're in Hogwarts! And for Merlin's sake, give the poor girl a break! She is Rei, believe it or not. And even if she is Severus... why can't you two forget your little rivalry? You both have changed! We all have!"

Rei turned away from the two cats. "But what if I don't want to change?" she whispered.

"See?" Artemis frowned. "What did I tell ya? Cynical as ever! I really don't see how Dumbledore can have so much faith in him."

"If there's one thing Dumbledore and Usagi have in common, than it's having faith in those people they believe in... and to be honest, I always believed that the same could be said about you."

Artemis turned away as well. "Whatever..." he grumbled. "Go and console him... or her. I only wanted to tell you about something weird I noticed about Ron's pet rat..."

"If it bothers you so much, you should go and eat it, Potter!" Rei spat. "And choke on it!"

Luna watched her as she ran back upstairs. She then turned to her husband-turned-mate and glared fiercely.

"What?" he asked. "Are you that surprised? You know I can't stand that guy!"

"You really should be ashamed of yourself, Artemis..." Luna whispered, this time addressing the feline half of her mate's soul. "Making one of our Senshi cry... how could you?" And she ran after Rei.

Artemis groaned. "I knew it was a bad idea coming here..." he grumbled. "But nooo, I just had to follow the urges of my feline half... stupid mooncat, just because you feel you have to be here... Minako didn't even show up until now."

He sighed and shook his head. "Still, I should inform at least Moony... Makoto... whatever. If I'm not wrong, that rat's smell is way too familiar..."

* * *

"Lemon Drop!"

Severus Snape entered the headmaster's room, his face an emotionless mask. But that was only a facade, because behind that mask, there was a maelstrom of feeling: Confusion, helplessness, happiness, sadness and joy all made him feel as if his heart would shatter any moment.

He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up without becoming crazy. He wanted to clear this up, now and forever!

He knocked, and Dumbledore's voice spoke: "Come in!"

Severus let out a sigh of relief. For a moment, he had feared that the sweet voice of Usagi Tsukino would reply. He really didn't need her absent-mindedness right now.

Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, with only his phoenix Fawkes and the portraits of the old headmasters as company.

"Ah, Severus," he said and gestured to an empty chair. "Please, have a seat! Right after I received your message, I postponed the meeting I promised Mr. Filch... I could tell that you seemed troubled. I also informed Professor Lupin, at your request. He will be here in a couple of minutes."

"Thank you, headmaster!" Severus said in a very strained voice. "Dumbledore... before I begin, I'd like to ask you a question."

"I am listening!"

Snape took a deep breath before he continued. "Dumbledore, I must know... did you... did you know that Luna... that Luna was Lily Potter?"

Dumbledore stayed silent for a while. Then he sighed. "I was afraid you'd ask that. But to tell you the truth, yes, I did know."

Snape groaned and rubbed his temples. Finally, he asked: "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It is very simple, Severus: Luna - that is, Lily - asked me not to tell you."

"Why did she do that? Doesn't she trust me?" Snape tried very hard not to sound too hurt.

"On the contrary, she trusts you more than you might think. And she also knows about the feelings you still have for her." Snape was surprised that Dumbledore brought this up, but after all, the headmaster was the only man he had ever talked with about his feelings.

"Is that the reason why you asked me to call this meeting?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, not really! I just wanted to know... never mind. I asked you for this meeting because I want to know your opinion about this whole situation... yours and that of Lupin. And that's why I wanted to talk to you like this, not in the forms of the girls we have become."

Dumbledore nodded. "Ah, I understand. Is it troubling you, Severus?"

"I can't tell you just how much it troubles me," Snape sighed. "The return of Lily and... and Potter was just the last straw. At first, I was appalled at the idea of becoming a schoolgirl, but now..."

He sighed and hid his face in his hands. Dumbledore patiently waited for him to continue.

"Now I'm starting to remember everything," Snape explained. "Everything from Rei's life, I mean. I remember the work at the Hikawa Temple, the first time I held the transformation pen, my friendship with Usagi and Makoto and Minako and Ami... and our battles together."

"I am glad to hear that," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Yes, it happened after Miss Parkinson started to introduce me to the Quidditch team... and the rest of her friends. It started to feel like the old days, and maybe that's what caused the memories to return. But as you know, I am both Rei Hino and Severus Snape... and we are two entirely different sorts of people. So how can our interests be the same? When I'm standing in my classroom... and see the students... I have mixed feelings about them. For once, they are my friends and classmates I learned to like as Rei. But then again, they are my students... students that should respect me. How can I have a solid relationship with any of them when I have two different mindsets within me?"

"Severus," Dumbledore replied in a firm voice. "The first thing you have to learn is: You have two different sets of memories, but... you don't have two different personalities. The minds of Rei Hino and Severus Snape have merged... you are both, at the same time, no matter which form you are wearing."

"That... that cannot be!" Snape protested. "If that's the case, why do I feel like my feelings are splitting my life apart?"

"You have to get used to it," Dumbledore said. "When Usagi's soul first entered mine, I was completely overwhelmed by her pure soul and her cheerful personality. But I learned to adapt and to accept it as part of me. Miss Meioh helped me... so if you need help, you can still ask me. Or Remus, for that matter. I know the two of you had a difficult history, but no matter what happened, we are all teammates."

Snape was just going to point out his even more difficult history with James, when the door opened. Lupin came in, and following him was none other than... Ami.

Ami smiled and Lupin nodded towards Dumbledore. "Headmaster, I came as soon as I received your message. I hope you don't mind that I brought Ami-cha... Ami along."

"Lupin, why did you bring her?" Snape groaned as he leaned back in his chair.

"I'm sorry, but that's my fault," Ami sheepishly admitted. "As soon as I heard that you three were having a meeting, I figured it would be best if I came along... so it would be a true 'Senshi meeting'... I couldn't possibly join the conversation as Hedwig, right?"

"Well, maybe it isn't so bad that you're here," Dumbledore said. "Severus asked us to come because he is troubled with our current situation."

"Aw, do you still have trouble remembering everything?" Ami asked in a worried voice.

"On the contrary, I remember almost everything," Snape sighed.

"Really?" Ami beamed. "Oh, that's wonderful!"

"Not quite..." Snape sighed.

Ami blinked. "I don't understand... why?"

"It seems like Severus believes that his life is being divided into two parts since his interests aren't the same as those of Rei."

"But that's not true!" Ami protested. "I know how it was for me, and everything worked out just fine for me. Harry still accepts me as a friend, even though he knows that I am his owl, and he even lets me still deliver his mail..."

"You don't know Severus' part of his personality as good as I do, Ami," Remus sighed. "Listen, Severus... I might not be the right man to tell you this, but... the main problem is you."

Anger flared up in Snape's eyes. "What are you trying to tell me? That I am a spineless wimp, like your friend Potter would do?"

"No, I am just trying to tell you that your relationship to your students lacks... warmth. You always seem to believe that they have to respect you. I always try to be their mentor... as well as their friend."

"I am afraid Remus has a point," Dumbledore said with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Rei always loved those around her, almost as much as Usagi did. But since you never did the same, you have trouble accepting these feelings of friendship for your students, Severus."

"I am their TEACHER!" Severus angrily stated. "If they don't have their respect, what else do I have left?"

Ami smiled. "Their friendship."

Dumbledore stood up. "I advise you to take things slowly, but try to be a bit more lenient towards your students. Professor McGonagall told me how Neville Longbottom is afraid of your lessons... try to make him feel at home. That would be a good beginning.

'Longbottom?' Snape wondered. 'He wants me to treat that failure of a student like a friend?' But as soon as Snape thought that, he felt ashamed of himself.

"Is that the only problem you have, Severus?" Ami asked.

"There... there's still the matter of Potter..." Snape weakly uttered.

"Potter?" Remus was surprised. "You mean Harry?"

"No, I mean his father... your close friend, Lupin! James Potter! How can I accept my secondary role as Rei when I know that HE has become Artemis?"

Ami was a bit confused, but Lupin was downright shocked. "Artemis... is James?" he finally blurted out. He looked at Dumbledore. "How could that happen? Dumbledore! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Upon James' and Lily's request," Dumbledore said. "They wanted to tell you when the time is right... but I suppose it's better you know it now."

"Lily... don't tell me... Luna?"

Dumbledore nodded. Lupin sighed. "I believe I must sit down for a while," he muttered and let himself fall down into the chair next to Snape.

"Are there any surprises we should know about, headmaster?" Snape asked. "Like, any other Senshi you know about?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, I don't know who else could be one of us. But I do know that it could be anyone, and Ami is the proof that not just the teachers can be affected."

* * *

Ginny Weasley was just coming from her Transfiguration lesson, when she heard soft sobbing. She turned around and realized that it was coming out of a small broom closet in which Mr. Filch was storing his brooms and other cleaning utensils.

She carefully knocked against the door. "Hello? Who's in there? Are you all right?"

The sobbing stopped. Ginny opened the door a bit and looked into the teary face of a girl with dark, violet hairs. She seemed like she could be her own age.

Ginny gave her a smile. "Hello, I'm Ginny. Say, are you okay? I heard you crying..."

The girl sniffled. "I'm fine... I just needed a good cry, that's all."

"I've never seen you before," Ginny said. "What's your name?"

The girl seemed taken aback by that question. Hesitantly, she answered: "I'm Per... I mean, I'm Hotaru Tomoe."

Ginny took Hotaru's hand and shook it. "Hi, Hotaru! Now, don't you want to come out of there? This doesn't look too comfortable."

"No, not really... okay, I guess there's no way around it," Hotaru sighed and came climbing out of the closet.

"Are you one of the new students from Japan?" Ginny asked curiously. "You certainly look asian to me."

Hotaru looked down at her feet. "I guess I am... but I can't really say... what's going on here, anyway?" she whispered to herself.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear that. What did you say?"

"Well, I... HEY!" When she saw the two bulky forms of Crabbe and Goyle spraying magical paint onto a still life painting, she angrily strode up to them. "What do you think you're doing? Stop that at once!"

Crabbe snickered. "What, does the little girl think she can stop us? Just make me!" And he gestured his wand at her.

"Okay, that's it!" Hotaru shouted. "40 points taken away from Slytherin, 20 for each of you! And I'll report that to your house teacher when I find out that you do something like that again!"

"Who do you think you..."

"Hey, she's a prefect!" Goyle hissed, gesturing at the small badge that was sticking to her robe. "Come on, I don't want to get into more trouble. Let's get out of here."

And Crabbe decided to listen to his partner in crime for once and together, they ran away.

Ginny was impressed. "Wow, I never knew that someone as young as you can become a prefect. Which house are you from, anyways?"

"Gryffindor," Hotaru replied, but right after she said that, she wished she hadn't said that.

"Gryffindor?" Ginny wondered. "You're not in my class. Are you a first-grader? You certainly don't look like it... and I doubt that you're as old as my brothers."

"Well, about that..." Hotaru murmured. "I am really..."

Then Ginny got startled. "Oops, I guess you'll have to tell me later. I'm late for class... see you later, Hotaru!"

And then she was gone.

Hotaru looked down at her prefect emblem and sighed. "Now what do I do? Who can I tell what happened? Who will believe me? I can't face Penelope like this... not even Ginny recognized me."

Then she got an idea. "Dumbledore!" she said. "Yes, the headmaster should have a solution... why didn't I think of this before?"

And she happily skipped down the corridor.

* * *

Hotaru had just reached the entrance to the headmaster's office, when she remembered that she didn't know the password.

"Well, isn't this great..." she sighed. "And Penny just had to forget giving me the headmaster's note with all the passwords for every entrance in Hogwarts... what am I gonna do now?"

Coincidentally, Setsuna Meioh just came around the corner. When she saw the purple-haired girl in front of the office entrance, she had to double-check to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

"Hotaru-chan?"

Hotaru turned around... and gasped. Of course she recognized Professor Meioh, but... now, there was something else. A memory that she never had before...

"Setsuna-mama?" For Percy, that sounded so weird, but the little girl couldn't help herself. Just like when a dam was opened, masses of memories came pouring into her hand. And Percy also would never have done the following: Hotaru ran towards the green-haired woman and gave her a hug. "Setsuna-mama, what happened? Why are we here? Where are Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa? And Usagi-chan? And all the others...? And..." She sniffed and looked up at the astronomy teacher with wide eyes. "Oh my god! I am a little girl! A little girl can't be a prefect... how do I explain this to Dumbledore...?"

"Now, calm down there, Hotaru-chan!" Setsuna said in a soothing voice. "Yes, something terrible happened to us, and your souls have found new bodies. We haven't found Haruka and Michiru yet, but most of the others. Now, can you tell me who you have been before your souls merged?"

"I... I am... Percy Weasley..." Hotaru sobbed. "Or am I not? I'm so confused..."

"Percy?" Setsuna asked in surprise. The head boy who was always acting according to protocol? The strict prefect who was always seen near Miss Clearwater from Ravenclaw? Oh boy...

"Now listen up, you must know that you are both Percy Weasley and Hotaru Tomoe now, and it's very important that you accept that. Do you understand?" She hoped so, at least for Hotaru's sake. The little girl didn't deserve to be in the body of someone as stubborn as Severus Snape... it was enough that Rei had to endure that torture.

"Y-yes, I think I understand," Hotaru nodded. "I already figured as much, still I'm so confused... oh my, what do I call you now? You are still my teacher..."

"It's easy, really!" Setsuna smiled. "As Percy, you keep addressing me as Mrs. Meioh. As Hotaru, you just call me whatever you wish."

"I'm not stuck like this?" A tiny bit of fear was in Hotaru's voice, but also a tiny bit of relief. "Oh, what will Penelope say when she learns about this...?"

"You don't have to tell Miss Clearwater if you don't wish to," Setsuna said. "In fact, I would welcome it if you kept this a secret from anyone except the other Senshi."

"The others!" Hotaru shouted. "You said you found a few? Are they all right? Wait... do they share a body as well? Do YOU share a body with someone?"

"No, not me," Setsuna said while shaking her head. "But Usagi, Ami, Makoto and Rei have merged with the souls of certain people."

"But who?" Hotaru wondered.

Suddenly a high squeak came from behind the door they were standing for, and a loud crash could be heard.

Hotaru and Setsuna exchanged a confused look. "What was that?" Hotaru asked.

"L-l-lemon Drop..." a girl's voice said in a whiny voice, and the gargoyle moved to the side. The door opened, and a heap of three girls came stumbling out.

Setsuna frowned. "Do you know it's not nice to listen to the conversation of other people?"

Usagi grinned. "Heheheh, sorry, Setsuna..."

"Yeah, it was a stupid idea, but we couldn't resist," Makoto explained as they got up from the ground.

Ami blushed. "I told them not to do it..."

"I can't believe you are acting like this..." came a grumpy voice from above as a black-haired girl in a Slytherin uniform came down the stairs. "You are the headmaster, so show some responsibility!"

Usagi smirked. "Hey, I may be the headmaster, but I am also a school girl right now, so why shouldn't I act like one?"

Hotaru was taken aback. "Makoto? Rei? Ami? Us... usagi? DUMBLEDORE? You are..."

"Surprise!" Usagi giggled. "Well, yeah, I didn't really have a choice in this, but I'm glad it happened. Sorry we spied on you like that, but I'm still happy to see you again, Hotaru-chan! Well, I mean, I already knew you as Percy Weasley, but you know what I mean."

"I... think so," Hotaru nodded. "So we can change back whenever we like?"

"Only if we have accepted our role," Makoto said with a side glance to Rei.

"At least I am remembering parts of Miss Hino's life now. And instead of you, I'd still like to show some responsibility, Lupin!"

"She never learns, does she?" Setsuna sighed. "Listen, YOU are Rei Hino. And she..." She pointed at the tall, pony-tailed girl next to her. "Is Makoto. So call her that!"

Rei sighed. "I try, I try... it's still so hard to accept all of this, don't you see? And now that Potter is Artemis..."

"P-potter?" Hotaru gasped. "You mean... HARRY is Artemis? Is Luna..."

"What? No, no, you are jumping to conclusions, Hotaru-chan!" Makoto snickered. "Artemis isn't Harry Potter, he is James Potter, Harry's father and my best friend."

"And my eternal nightmare, it seems..." Rei growled.

"I will talk to him," Makoto promised. "And I think Lily will help me. Still, it helps that his son knows of our secret... oh my god, I just noticed: What will Harry say when he learns that his parents are here, feline, but alive?"

"Wait a minute..." Hotaru said. All of this was way too much for her. "Harry knows?" She looked at Setsuna. "I thought you told me that we aren't supposed to tell anybody."

"That was the case... but he and his friends found out," Setsuna explained. "It happened when Ami awoke... you see, she is Harry's owl, and therefore, Harry and his friends know..."

Ami blushed. "It was... an accident..."

"But... Harry's friends KNOW? You mean... Hermione and... and RON??" Her voice was filled with panic. "Oh no, I can't let him know about this... what if he tells my parents... what if he tells FRED AND GEORGE? My life is ruined..."

"Too bad you didn't turn out to be Minako," Usagi giggled. "She would have paid those two any prank back they had played on her..."

Makoto sighed. "I really wonder where she is..."

* * *

A blonde girl approached the painting of the Fat Lady, which was hanging in front of the Gryffindor common room. She was wearing a set of Gryffindor robes and a very strained smile on her face.

"Would you please let me in?" she asked with a pout. "I seem to have forgotten my timetable inside..."

The Fat Lady raised her eyebrows. "Have I seen you before? Never mind, if you are a Gryffindor, you know the rules: I can't let you in without a password!"

Minako batted her eyelashes. "Pretty please? I forgot the password and I REEEAAAALLLLYY need my timetable."

"I said no," the Fat Lady insisted. "No password, no entry! And if you forgot it, why don't you ask one of the prefects? Now don't keep bothering me!"

Minako frowned. "You are going on my nerves, you... you cranky old hag!"

"EXCUSE ME?" the Fat Lady shouted. "In ALL my life... I have NEVER heard such a vulgar comment, such an IMPUDENCE... leave, now! You are such a disgrace to our house... you brat..."

"Okay, that does it!" Minako angrily grumbled as she pulled out a certain pen. "If you don't want to let me through..."

"Wh-what are you doing?" the Fat Lady murmured in confusion.

Minako smirked. "That! VENUS STAR POWER, MAKE UP!"

A display of shiny lights, and the girl had turned into her Sailor Senshi persona.

"What is the meaning of this?" the Fat Lady wondered.

Minako grinned. "Last chance, old hag! Let me in... or I'm gonna punish you in the name of Venus!"

"Forget it!" the Fat Lady snapped. "Insolent girl!"

"Have it your way, then!" Minako grumbled and pointed her finger at the painting. "CRESCENT BEAM!"

* * *

Author's Note:

All those of you who can already guess Minako's second identity, get a cookie! ;-)


	4. A Senshi Slumber Party

Minerva McGonagall was very proud of her position as the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts, but she still wished she didn't have to do certain jobs this position entailed. Like, for instance, bringing the headmaster this list of all the students that have called in sick... she really had better things to do.

When she came around the corner and saw the group of girls standing in front of the headmaster's office, she frowned. She would have a stern word with them.

"What are you all doing here?" she sternly asked. "Do you have to loiter in front of the headmaster's office?"

"Oh, P-p-professor McGonagall..." Usagi stuttered. "S-sorry about this, but..."

"I already had a word with them, Minerva," Setsuna quickly said. "They promised me to never do it again."

"Is that so?" McGonagall grumbled. "Well, I think I can let them off the hook this one time."

"Oh, thank you, McGonagall-san!" Hotaru smiled, not noticing the Japanese suffix she was addressing her house teacher with.

Minerva blinked. Had she met this girl before? "Excuse me, Miss..."

"Um, this is Hotaru Tomoe," Setsuna explained. "Another one of my students."

McGonagall raised her eyebrows. "Another one?" she wondered. "My, they are springing up like mushrooms, aren't they? I suppose you'd like me to organize another private sorting, or am I wrong, Setsuna?"

"Well... I was just going to ask..." Setsuna grinned sheepishly.

The transfiguration teacher shook her head. "I suppose the headmaster knows of this, but let me tell you that I do not approve of the way you are introducing your students to this school. The sorting ceremony is an old tradition that shouldn't be held anytime because your students can't attend them in time."

Setsuna cringed a bit, because she hated to be pictured as an unprofessional. She was a bit relieved when the deputy headmistress' tirade was interrupted by the arrival of a certain, almost-headless ghost.

"Professor McGonagall!" Sir Nicholas gasped. "Thank goodness I found you! Something... something terrible happened to the Fat Lady! You must come and see!"

"Something terrible? Could you please elaborate, Sir Nicholas?" McGonagall frowned.

"Somebody... somebody attacked her! Her picture... it has been perforated by magic spells of an unknown nature. The Fat Lady was so agitated that she hid on a different painting on the second floor. It was Peeves who found her..."

McGonagall let out a gasp of surprise. "My goodness... did she also tell him who attacked her?"

The Near Headless Nick lowered his voice to a whisper. "She... she told him it was a blonde girl - young enough to be a student - who wore an unusual outfit."

"We have to inform the headmaster," McGonagall said resolutely. "Sir Nicholas, please inform the other teachers to bring their students down into the Great Hall. Setsuna, I want you to do the same with your charges." Nick nodded and floated right through the ceiling.

Usagi, Rei and Makoto looked at each other with worry. "B-but Minerva..." Setsuna protested. "Just because of a harmless prank played by one of the students? Isn't that a bit much?"

"We can't be too careful, Setsuna," McGinagall said. "Who knows who that girl is... now that we know Sirius Black is on the loose, we have to fear the worst. Maybe she thought it was a harmless prank, but what if Black forced her to do it while she was in Hogsmeade? Or what if she IS Black, disguised as a normal girl?"

"The Dementors would have recognized him in that case," Makoto pointed out.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Miss Kino," McGonagall harshly said. "Now, would you finally bring your students down into the Great Hall, Setsuna?"

Setsuna realized there wasn't much she could do to protest. "Very well... come this way, girls!"

McGonagall sighed. "Finally... now, I need to make sure that everyone is safe... Where in the world is Percy Weasley? As the new Head Boy, I expected him to be a bit more dependable than that..."

* * *

"Setsuna!" Usagi whispered as the Senshi walked downstairs. "I need to go back. The headmaster is needed in such a situation. If it really is Black..."

"I know, I know," Setsuna sighed. "But what can I do? Minerva ordered me to bring you down, and as she is the deputy headmistress, I can't really defy her. And when she sees that one of you is missing..."

"This isn't good..." Rei muttered. "They will need every teacher to help with the search... and who will inform the students of my house?"

Ami frowned. "You know, I think I just figured out the identity of the girl who attacked the Fat Lady..."

Usagi snickered. "That's our good old Ami! Always ahead of us!" She hesitated. "Um, and who is it?"

"Can't you imagine? A girl our age, blond, wearing unusual clothing, magical attacks..."

Makoto gasped. "You can't possibly mean... Minako?"

Ami nodded. "Exactly! It has to be her!"

"But why would Mina-chan do something like that?" Usagi wondered. "And why doesn't she reveal herself to us?"

"Maybe she doesn't even know we are here," Setsuna pondered. "I don't know who she could share a soul with, or what made her attack the Fat Lady, but we have to make sure that she doesn't do it again."

"I wonder..." Hotaru murmured. "Who could it be?"

Makoto and Rei exchanged a worried glance, but didn't say anything else. Both of them had a hunch, but hoped that it would turn out to be wrong...

* * *

In the evening, when every student had returned from Hogsmeade, the remaining teachers had brought all of them down into the Great Hall. Sleeping bags were placed upon the floor, since Minerva had decided that it would be safer if they were all sleeping here, checked upon by the teachers regularly.

Rei was very nervous when she slipped into her sleeping bag. "I shouldn't be here," she whispered. "I should be helping the other teachers to find... well, whoever is to blame."

"I don't like it either, but we have to play our part for now," Makoto whispered back. "If it is really Minako, I see two possibilities: Either she is reasonable enough to turn herself in, or she is sneaky enough to get away."

"Minako and reasonable?" Rei huffed. "Don't make me laugh..."

Hotaru was the one who felt most uncomfortable of them. She nervously glanced over to where Penelope was talking to Professor McGonagall. She also looked over to where Ron, Harry and Hermione were getting into their own sleeping bags.

"I really hope Ron doesn't recognize me like this..." she muttered.

"He already knows our secret," Ami whispered. "You have to tell him sooner or later."

"But... no, I can't do that!" Hotaru blushed when she imagined the hysterical laughter of her younger brother... or was that big brother right now? Or even worse, when he told Fred and George... or her parents...

"Hi there, Hotaru!" a red-headed girl smiled as she sat down next to her. Hotaru gasped. "G-ginny?"

"Hey, you remember my name!" Ginny grinned. "I'm glad." She looked over to Ami and the others. "Are these your friends?"

"Y-yes, we are, um, all from Japan..."

"Hey everyone!" Ginny greeted them. The Senshi waved back (Rei only after getting pinched by Makoto).

"What do you think of this?" Ginny asked them. "I mean, everyone says that the Fat Lady was attacked by some girl... and I've heard the most ridiculous theories about her identity." She chuckled. "Some even say that she is Sirius Black in disguise."

The Senshi stared at her, then Rei and Makoto started to laugh. "Teeheehee, imagine that, Sirius Black as a blonde schoolgirl!" Makoto giggled.

"Yeah..." Rei snickered. "What a stupid idea..."

Usagi, Ami and Hotaru looked at the laughing girls with worry. Then Usagi looked at Ami and mouthed the word 'Sirius?' with her lips. Ami shrugged.

"All right now, everyone into their sleeping bags!" Penelope Clearwater said as she came past them. "And no talking anymore!"

Hotaru watched how her girlfriend walked around, making sure that nobody was talking to his neighbor anymore. She also noticed how she was looking after the younger students, in case they were afraid.

She was surprised when all of a sudden, Penelope turned around and knelt down in front of her with a smile. "Hey, are you a first grader as well? You're not afraid, aren't you?"

"N-n-no..." Hotaru replied with a blush. "I'm fine..."

"You don't have to worry," Penelope tried to calm her. "I believe that this is just one giant prank and the teachers are overreacting... say, you are in Gryffindor, right?"

"Um, y-yes," Hotaru nodded.

Penelope smiled. "My boyfriend is also in your house. He's the Head Boy, you know?" She then frowned. "Although I really wonder where he is. It's not like him to ditch his responsibilities like that... If he doesn't show up soon, I'll give him a piece of my mind."

She chuckled, but Hotaru gulped when hearing that. Penny sighed. "Oh well, I guess I won't do it after all... I just like him too much."

"I like... I mean, I'm sure he likes you as well," Hotaru murmured.

Penelope smiled. "Aaah, that's so sweet of you! Oh, but why am I bothering you with this? Well, sleep well, and don't be afraid, okay?"

"O-okay..." Hotaru nodded while Penelope closed her sleeping bag for her.

Afterwards, Penelope walked over to Professor McGonagall and whispered: "Could you find the girl?"

"No, I'm afraid we didn't," McGonagall whispered back. "Is everything fine here?"

"Everything's under control, ma'am!"

"Good. I don't think we should scare them by telling them the truth. I found another guardian for the Gryffindor common room."

"The... truth, ma'am?" Penelope wondered.

"Professor Flitwick talked to the Dementors guarding the main gate, and they said that this afternoon, a blonde girl had come into the school building. They let her through, but they also told him that this girl had a trace of fear around her... of a kind they had tasted before."

Penelope gasped. "You can't mean..."

McGonagall nodded. "Yes, I am certain. That girl has to be Black, in some clever disguise. It even confused the Dementors enough that they didn't stop her from entering Hogwarts."

"Didn't they want to help looking for him?" Penelope murmured nervously.

"Yes, but I told them that Dumbledore's wish was to never let one of these creatures into the school."

Usagi, who had quietly listened to their conversation, smiled with satisfaction. "Good job, Minerva..." she murmured.

"But what about the headmaster?" Penelope wondered. "And Professor Snape and Lupin? Could you find them?"

McGonagall shook her head. "No, and I don't have any idea why they should abandon their offices like that. Either they are already after the perpetrator, or..."

"Or what, Professor?"

Minerva thought about it, then she shook her head. "Ah, just a silly idea... I doubt that it's true."

* * *

In a dark tunnel, deep below Hogwarts, a blonde girl in a Sailor Fuku was sitting. Her head was perched upon her knees, and she was sobbing.

"Why did I do that?" she sniffled. "I am one of the defenders of love and justice, aren't I?"

Her tears continued to flow, even when a grimaced of hatred appeared on her beautiful face. "But I HAD to go in there! The thought... of what he could do... the thought that Lily and James could still be alive..." She made her hands into fists. "He will pay for that..." she whispered.

And then she hid her face in her hands and continued to cry.

But just a moment later, a familiar voice next to her spoke up: "Well, are you finished with crying your eyes out? If yes, why don't you come back to the school so we sort this out?"

Minako gasped when she saw the white cat standing in front of her. "A... artemis?"

"Why did you do it, Venus?" Artemis asked the Senshi who had been his protege in a former life.

"Um, no particular reason..." she innocently said. But for some reason, she couldn't look into his eyes.

He sighed. "Mina... look at me!"

She did so, and he could see they were filled with guilt. "So... is it true?"

She blinked. "What?"

"Are you Sirius Black?"

She went pale as a sheet. "A... artemis... how did you...? I, I mean... I have no idea what you're talking about..."

The white cat smirked. "Nice try, Padfoot! You are one of the few people who know about this tunnel, after all."

She gasped. "How did you... the only ones that knew me by that name were... can it be?"

Artemis grinned. "Surprise! Prongs is back in school! Although I don't seem much like a stag now..."

"JAMES!" Minako shouted and hugged the white cat to her chest. "Ohmygod, I mean, how? I can't believe it's you! Oh, I thought you were dead..." She started sobbing.

Artemis sighed. Oh boy, teenage girls' hormones really were fun sometimes. "Hey, it's alright, Mina-chan!" he smiled and padded her shoulder with his paw. "Yes, I was dead, but... when my soul came close to Artemis' body, we... merged, similarly to how you and Venus merged."

Minako sniffed. "It was all I could do to keep my sanity in A-askaban... I was lucky that the Dementors don't really have eyes. Minako's happy memories of her friends helped me in the darkness... but I could only escape by turning into a dog."

"I suppose you aren't the killer everyone is taking you for, huh?"

She shook her head. "No, you've gotta believe me! I mean, I wanted to get that dirty rat, but..."

"Sirius..." Artemis said in a very serious voice. "I know that Peter betrayed us, and I don't hate him any less than you do... but you do realize that he lured you into a trap, don't you? You would have never been sent to Askaban if..."

"I know, I know," she grimaced. "But... I couldn't stand the thought... it was ME who suggested to switch, you know? It had been MY fault that you and Lily were dead... you must hate me, now that she's gone... even worse, now you can't be with her..."

Artemis sighed. "Lily is Luna."

Minako was surprised. "Really? Oh, um, I... I really got myself into trouble this time, huh?"

Artemis couldn't help but grin. She reminded him so much of the original Minako now... "Say, what happened to Wormtail anyway? How could he escape?"

"The... the rat in Harry's room..." Minako muttered. "The one belonging to the Weasley boy..."

Artemis' eyes went wide. "You mean that's him? Oh boy, I should have known..." He gasped. "But wait a minute, if he's close to Harry, then..."

"You see why I tried to get in there?" Minako said. "I had to get him! Not only to clear my name..."

"By blasting the Fat Lady with Crescent Beams, huh?" the cat frowned.

Minako winced. "I know, I know, that wasn't the best idea... but do you have an idea how it is to be in Askaban? It was so horrible..." She started to cry again. Sirius Black had been void of any emotion except for hatred since he had been in Askaban, but Minako Aino was still full of pity and love, making this very hard for her.

"It's okay..." Artemis said and patted her arm. "It's okay, we're gonna find a way... Dumbledore and Moony are there, and together we will..."

"What? No!" she protested. "You can't tell them!"

"Why not?" Artemis wondered. "Mina-chan... Sirius... this is serious, don't you understand? Dumbledore will believe you, but if you continue to stay in hiding, then..."

"I... I am ashamed of myself..." Minako whispered. "I... I know Dumbledore is Usagi-chan..." She sniffed. "And Moony is Mako-chan..." She looked at her advisor with a miserable expression. "I couldn't face them like this! Where is Sailor Venus, the Senshi of Love? She's nothing but a wanted killer who has to hide like a dog in the dumps... I can't face them like this..."

Artemis sighed. "I really don't like this, Mina... but okay, if this is what you wish, I will keep it a secret... for now!"

"Oh thank you, Artemis!" she cried and hugged him again. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

Artemis gasped for air as he was pressed into a pair of soft and suffocating globes. "Minako... can't... breathe..."

"Oopsie!" she giggled and let go of him. "Silly me..."

* * *

Professor McGonagall gasped in surprise when she entered the headmaster's office and was confronted with two persons she didn't expect to meet. "Headmaster... Professor Snape... where have you BEEN?"

"Hogsmeade, Minerva!" Dumbledore smiled. "A few students already told me about the incident, and Severus had the idea that if it really was Black, he would try to hide in Hogsmeade. So we searched through the village, together with Professor Lupin. We couldn't find him, and it was getting late, so we stayed at the pub of my brother for the night."

McGonagall frowned. "Really, Dumbledore! This isn't like you! You could have sent us a message!"

"I am sorry if I caused any inconveniences... Well, Severus and I were just talking about the upcoming Quidditch match..."

She raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Well, since both Flint and Malfoy are still in the Hospital wing, I wondered if we could switch the Slytherin team with Hufflepuff for this match," Severus explained.

McGonagall didn't like that at all. "I thought the Slytherin team had a replacement for Flint?" she wondered.

Severus sighed. "Yes, but she..." He looked uncomfortable for some reason. "Didn't have enough chances to train for the match. It would give Gryffindor an unfair advantage."

"I already talked with Pomona, and the Hufflepuff's captain, Diggory! They see no problem with it."

The transfiguration teacher sighed. "Very well, I agree." She then glared at Snape. "But the next match for Gryffindor will be against Slytherin, understood?"

"Perfectly!" Snape smirked. It wasn't like him, but that had changed after a certain, black-haired girl had become part of his identity, and right now, Rei was whooping with joy from within Snape's heart. She really needed the extra training...

After McGonagall had left, Snape turned back into Rei, who grinned at Dumbledore and said: "Thanks!"

Dumbledore grinned. "It was my pleasure! Say, Rei... I have noticed that ever since you have started to remember your past, you have used any chance to become your female self. Is there a reason behind it?"

"If you have to know, I'm trying to get more comfortable with my double life," she grimaced. "Besides, I have some Quidditch training to attend tomorrow morning, so I need to get to bed early today... as Rei, of course!"

"Try not to forget Lupin's potion, okay?" he reminded her.

"Hey, I'm not as scatter-brained as a certain meatball head!" she grinned and stuck out her tongue.

Dumbledore laughed. "You know, any other student would get detention for that."

* * *

It was getting late when Rei arrived at Lupin's office. She entered. "Lupin? Or Makoto? Anyone?"

"I'm here!" Makoto shouted as she came running from the adjoining room. "I just finished installing my new magical kitchen... you wanna take a look at it?"

"Um... maybe another time, Makoto! Here's your potion!"

"Thanks!" The brunette accepted the goblet. "You're late, by the way! Any minute now, and I'm gonna transform."

"So... any reason why YOU use every opportunity to be Makoto?" Rei grinned.

"Well, it's nice to be a young student again... but the main reason is that tonight, I wanted to try something. Both of us know that Remus Lupin is a werewolf. But... is it also true for Makoto Kino? I'm gonna drink this potion, but I will also try if I transform at all when I'm in this form." She smiled. "Wouldn't it be great if I didn't have to turn into a werewolf every full moon?"

Rei chuckled. "You know, just a week ago, I wouldn't have cared if you would turn into a werewolf or into a Puffskein, but now... I think it would be great if that works! Give it a try, Mako-chan!"

"All right, here goes nothing..." She swallowed the wolfsbane potion, put the goblet on a table, stood in front of the window and waited.

They had to wait some time until the full moon appeared, but then, his silver rays shone down on Makoto's body.

"N-no need to be afraid," Makoto murmured. "Even if I transform, the potion will allow me to keep my mind... Urrrgghhh, I feel something... it's beginning... aw drat, I guess I'm transforming after all..."

Rei took a step back when suddenly, Makoto doubled over. Her clothes ripped apart when her new body expanded with newfound muscles, and her skin got covered in a coat of brown fur... at least this was different from Lupin's original werewolf form. Her ears grew pointed, her face stretched out into a muzzle... but only into a short one. And when her tail erupted from her backside, the female werewolf let out a soft howl.

Rei blinked. She didn't look like a normal werewolf. "Ma... makoto?" she muttered. "You still have got, um, boobs!"

Makoto looked down at herself. "I do?" She then gasped. "I do! And I can talk! Wow, is this awesome or what? And look at me, I look much more human-like than before. And I can talk and walk on two legs and..." She grinned as she picked the empty cup from the table. "Look here! Opposable thumbs!"

Rei smirked. "Well, at least it's a partial success. I suppose you won't be too bored when waiting for sunrise."

"You bet I won't, girlfriend!" Makoto smirked back. "I'm gonna try out my new kitchen, no matter if I have fur or not! You wanna stay and keep me company?"

"I'd love to, but I have some Quidditch training tomorrow!" Rei apologized.

"Ah, yes, I remember... That reminds me, I still have a bone to pick with you, Rei!" She frowned. "What's this about Slytherin stepping back? Wood told me that Hufflepuff is the team we're gonna play against."

"It's true," Rei admitted. "It's because Flint and Malfoy are still in the Hospital wing. And don't look at me like that, it wasn't my idea! I'm just glad that I can use that chance to train a bit for my first match..."

"I bet you do..." the furry Senshi grumbled. "But it will be against Gryffindor, you hear me?"

"It's a promise!" Rei nodded.

* * *

The last day before the day had been a very weird day for Harry Potter. First, Professor Lupin wasn't present during the DADA class and Snape filled in for him. Harry and his friends were prepared for the worst, but Snape wasn't nearly as bad as they had feared. One time, when Neville gave him a wrong answer, it looked like he would want to give him a tongue-lashing, but he just murmured something like "That's okay, Longbottom!"

"He's acting kind of strange lately, doesn't he?" Ron whispered. "Do you think he's been possessed by a friendly ghost?" The potions lessons were not any different. Malfoy and the Slytherins were still getting more points for their deeds, but you could see that Snape was much more forgiving to the Gryffindors than he had been previously, which bothered most of the Slytherins visibly.

The rest of the day, Harry was being followed by that new, black cat from Mr. Filch. He wondered what reason the caretaker could have to keep such a close eye on him, but he made sure not to do anything the cat would report to Filch. It would be kinda stupid if he got in trouble just before the first Quidditch game of the season.

And when he, Ron and Hermione were on their way to Divination, the strangest thing of all happened. They came across Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, and the trio was up to no good as always. Malfoy had been angry the whole day because of the graciousness his house teacher had shown the Gryffindors over the past few days and wanted to pay Harry back by once again insulting his parents - with the intended result of getting Harry angry.

Harry made sure that neither of Filch's two cats was around, then he pulled out his wand. Hermione and Ron wanted to stop him, but Harry didn't care.

"What's wrong, Potter?" Malfoy mocked. "Are you afraid? You think your poor mother would get a heart attack if she saw her son like that?"

"Accio shoes!"

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle didn't even have time to gasp when suddenly, their shoes got pulled out from under their bodies, causing them to fall down flat on their faces. Their shoes slipped off their feet and flew towards a blonde girl wearing a red bow. Neither Harry nor Ron and Hermione had ever seen her before.

She grinned and threw the shoes down the stairs. "What's wrong? Did you stumble over your huge feet?"

Malfoy got back up to his feet. He was so angry that he wanted to pull his wand, but just then, Professor McGonagall came out of the classroom next to them and promptly took a few points from Slytherin for wanting to use magic on the corridor.

"But Professor, what about her?" Draco protested. "She used a spell to take away your shoes and... huh? Where'd she go?"

Just as everyone had looked over to Professor McGonagall, the strange girl had left.

"You should come up with some more believable lies if you want to get out of trouble, Mr. Malfoy!" MgGonagall frowned. "Now get to class... and put on some shoes!"

When Harry, Ron and Hermione were continuing their way to class, Ron snickered. "I don't know who that girl was, but I definitely like her. Did you see Malfoy's face when he fell on his nose? Priceless!"

Hermione frowned. "I just think she should try not to use any magic if we aren't supposed to do so. Professor McGonagall would have taken points away from Gryffindor as well if she had seen her."

"She was a Gryffindor?" Ron wondered. "Wow, I never saw her before..."

Harry, on the other hand, had a hunch about that girl... but he didn't tell his friends about it yet.

* * *

The big day of the Quidditch match had arrived, and Harry woke up early. He quietly left the dormitory, making sure not to wake up the others.

When he opened the door, he saw Hermione's white cat looking up at him. Artemis purred and rubbed his body along Harry's legs.

Harry chuckled and pulled Artemis back before he could enter the dormitory. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid Ron is right about what he said about you. Leave Scabbers alone, okay?" And he closed the door.

Curiously, Artemis followed him the rest of the morning, even when he went down into the Great Hall to have his breakfast. The white cat asked strangely affectionate. And as soon as they entered the Great Hall, Filch's black cat showed up again and joined him.

Harry shook his head in confusion. He would never understand cats in his life...

Wood, the Weasley twins, Makoto and the rest of the team were already sitting at the table.

He smiled at Makoto when he sat down. The tall girl tried to smile as well, but failed when she opened her mouth for a massive yawn.

"Still tired, huh?" he asked her.

"You have no idea..." she grumbled. "I couldn't sleep the whole night..."

"You are not sick, are you?" Wood asked with worry. "We have no replacement for you."

"I'm not sick, I just had problems with... fleas..." Makoto grumbled.

Oliver and Harry exchanged a confused glance, then they shrugged and went back to eat.

Outside, it was pouring. The match would be difficult for both sides, but Harry still wished that the weather would have been a bit nicer this day.

* * *

The stands were filled with students from all houses, but their loud shouts and cheers weren't loud enough to drown out the loud thunder that crackled in the background.

Rei was sitting with her Slytherin friends. "Go, Hufflepuff, go!" Pansy Parkinson screamed.

"You are for Hufflepuff?" Millicent asked in surprise. "For those losers?"

Pansy grimaced. "I'm not for them, but I want them to defeat Gryffindor! You rather want to cheer on Potter? What do you think, Rei?"

"Oh, I'm definitely for Hufflepuff..." Rei murmured. She had spotted the tall figure of a certain boy in the Hufflepuff team, and her eyes brightened when she recognized him as Cedric Diggory.

A small smile appeared on her face. "Go, Cedric!" she whispered, so that Pansy and the other Slytherins couldn't hear her. She knew she wasn't supposed to feel like this, but she couldn't help herself... Diggory was just too cute in his yellow cape, even if he was completely soaked by the rain.

One time-out later, Gryffindor was leading with fifty points. Makoto Kino scored ten additional points by skillfully dodging a Bludger sent into her direction by one of Hufflepuff's Beaters while scoring a goal.

Harry was glad that they had taken Makoto into their team, at times she looked like she was an even better Chaser than Alicia. He was also glad that Hermione had been able to enchant his glasses, so they would repel water.

It happened when a bright lightning bolt came cracking down in the distance, and Harry saw the highest, empty row of seats... where a dog was sitting.

He froze. Was that the Grim again? But... this dog was much smaller than a Grim. And while he couldn't see it clearly because of the heavy rain, he still believed that its fur wasn't black, but yellow.

Harry shook his head. He had to concentrate on the game. He had no idea where that dog came from, but he really should stop panicking every time he saw a four-legged animal. He was starting to become as suspicious as Professor Trelawney...

He tried to find the Snitch again, but something was wrong... it was getting cold. Harry shivered. He had felt that coldness before... in the Hogwarts Express!

And then he saw the Dementors that were floating in the air. At least hundred cloaked figures, and he shivered even more when he started to hear the screams... he didn't even hear the surprised shouts and screams coming from the crowd... he slowly lost his grip on his Nimbus 2000...

"FIRE SOUL!"

"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!"

"MOON TIARA ACTION!"

Harry was so surprised by the female voices and the magical attacks that came flying at the Dementors that he forgot the cold and the screams in his head. He looked down.

On the field, three young girls in strange outfits had appeared. The middle one, a blonde with a hairstyle that reminded him of Usagi, pointed at the Dementors with the strangest-looking wand he had ever seen.

"This sportive event is supposed to be a fair match in which two teams can use all their skills to compete with each other... and I won't let you disturb this game! No matter how annoying this rain is... I'm wet, I'm miserable and right now, I'm pretty mad at you!"

She struck a pose. "We are the Sailor Senshi! I am Sailor Moon... and in the name of the moon, I'm gonna punish you!"


	5. Uranus and Neptune

After the strangely costumed girls had appeared and started hurling their unusual, clearly magical spells at the Dementors to drive them off, everybody on the ranks watched with awe.

"Filius..." whispered Professor Sprout. "Have you ever seen such spells before?"

"Not in my lifetime, Minerva," the diminutive Charms teacher admitted. "Although that blue-haired girl's spell is a bit similar to the Aguamenti charm, it definitely has its own, distinctive brilliance I have never seen in a spell before... this kind of magic... it really is something else..."

"I'd rather like to know where the headmaster has vanished to again," McGonagall proclaimed. "Why is it that lately, he can't be found whenever there's a crisis? I expected him to show up in such a situation, considering how he's feeling towards these creatures..."

"Shouldn't we do something to help?" Professor Sprout asked.

Setsuna Meioh, who was sitting behind her colleagues, smiled. "I doubt we'll have to do anything. These girls seem to have the situation under control."

She didn't admit it, but she was proud of the girls and happy that the Sailor Senshi were back in action. If only they would find Venus, Uranus and Neptune...

* * *

Harry tried his best to bring down his Nimbus 2000, but the heavy rain and the stormy winds made it difficult to see anything, despite the Impervius charm. But then one of the strange girls down on the field fired a flume of flame at the Dementors, and its blazing light was enough to tell Harry where to fly. He turned around his broom and wanted to fly down... when a familiar wave of fear passed through him.

The Dementor came floating up behind him, not bothered by the heavy storm. He reached out to taste Harry's fears, and once again Harry shuddered when he heard his mother's voice in his head... His hands lost their grips from the stick... and he fell down to the ground.

Just before he hit the Quidditch field's surface, though, he heard a crystal clear voice that called out through the thunder:

"VENUS LOVE-ME CHAIN!"

A chain of golden, shiny hearts wrapped itself around his body and stopped his fall. Harry gasped and nearly lost his glasses. The sudden yank was enough to pull him out of his fearsome visions. He looked up and saw another girl standing there, clad in a similar costume to those other strange girls, with waving, blonde hair.

She smirked at him and waved before slowly lowering him to the ground. Harry felt relieved, but he froze when he saw what snuck up behind the girl.

"BEHIND YOU!" he shouted. The girl looked around without letting go of the chain and saw the approaching Dementor. She held on to the chain with her left hand and pointed the other hand at the approaching creature.

"CRESCENT BEAM!" she shouted, and a bright beam came shooting out of her fingertip. It hit the Dementor in the middle of its head, and with a horrible hiss, it dissolved into dark mist.

Then Harry's feet touched the ground and the chain was released from his body. And when he looked up... the mysterious girl was gone.

Through the rain, his team mates were running up to him. "Harry!" Angelina shouted. "We saw your fall. Are you all right?"

"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine," he nodded. "One of these girls saved me."

"Aw man, that must be a blow to your pride," Fred Weasley grimaced.

His twin brother George nodded. "Yeah, I mean, being saved by a girl and all..."

Makoto and her fellow Chasers glared at the twins.

"I really wonder who those girls are, though," Katie murmured.

Harry had a hunch. He looked over to Makoto and noticed that she hardly tried not to look into his eyes. Then he remembered something. "Say, where's Wood? And the game... did Madam Hooch blow the whistle when the Dementors showed up?"

The others looked at him uncomfortably. "She... she and a few of us didn't realize immediately what was happening, since the Quaffel was at the other side of the stadium. And Diggory, he... he caught the Snitch just before they noticed what was going on. Hufflepuff has won..."

"Oliver is in the showers," Angelina said. "Diggory wanted to renounce the win, but Oliver didn't protest, so their win was valid."

Harry sighed. "I see..." Dang, what a bad luck. "And... has anyone seen my Nimbus 2000?"

* * *

The Dementors have fled - at least the ones that weren't hit by the Senshi's attacks - and the game was over.

Sailor Moon, Mars and Mercury were standing on top of the stands and looked at the blonde Senshi that was standing a short distance from them.

"Venus!" Sailor Moon shouted with joy. "So it WAS you! Where have you been? Why didn't you ever call us?"

Venus took a step back. "I... can't tell you..."

"Why not?" Mars asked. "Is it because of who you are sharing your soul with? Aw, c'mon, your situation can't be as bad as mine!" 'I can't believe I'm saying this...' Rei thought to herself.

Venus gave them a sad smile. "Sorry, guys... maybe some other time." And then she jumped off the stands.

"Wait! Mina-chan!" Mercury shouted and wanted to go after her, but Sailor Moon held her back.

"Let her go," she said in a soft voice. "She will tell us when she is ready."

Mercury and Mars looked at their leader with surprise. That was unusual, seeing Moon so calm when one of her friends was leaving her. But... she had never shared a soul with Dumbledore before, either...

Usagi smiled. "Whatever your reason may be, we'll be waiting for you, Mina-chan!"

When Minerva McGonagall and the other teachers reached the spot to have a word with the strange girls, the Senshi were already gone.

* * *

Hotaru shivered as she crouched on the ground. When the Dementors had arrived, she hadn't been able to do anything... she wanted to help her friends, so she transformed as well, but... as soon as Percy turned into Hotaru, she got reminded of what had happened to her former father. How he was possessed by the Death-Busters... and what Mistress Nine did to them... she was so scared of these memories that she ran away. And now she was crouching in one corner of the entrance hall and shivered.

For the first after having been turned into Hotaru Tomoe, Percy Weasley truly accepted what he had become... but that didn't mean he liked it.

"I'm just a normal boy," she murmured. "I'm a prefect and Hogwart's Head Boy, and I want to work for the Ministry, just like my father... but now I am a scared little girl who can't even face some lousy Dementors..." She sobbed. "I'm not even the powerful Sailor Saturn any more..."

She heard footsteps approaching her. She looked up and saw her sister Ginny's face.

"Hey..." Ginny said as she knelt down next to her. "I saw how you ran away... are you all right?"

'Great, now I'm feeling guilty as well...' Hotaru thought miserably. 'Guilty that I worried Ginny...'

"I'm fine..." she sniffled. "It's just... the Dementors..."

"Hey, it's okay!" Ginny smiled. "I know what these monsters can do, and believe me, for a while, I was tempted to run away as well."

"But you didn't..." Hotaru sniffled. "I did."

"That's true, but... listen, everyone can be a bit afraid sometimes. I've been scared to death before, and I can tell you, it wasn't a pleasant feeling... but afterwards, my friends helped me cope with it."

Hotaru looked at Ginny with gratitude. "Thanks..." she mumbled. "But I've never been scared before..."

Ginny smirked. "That's not true! Don't you recall the afternoon before your first date with Penny? Gosh, you were so nervous... you nearly cancelled the whole thing."

It took Hotaru a moment to realize what Ginny just said. Then she gasped. "G-ginny!" she blurted out. "Y-you... you know?"

"Yeah, I know," Ginny admitted. "I've seen you sitting with the other prefects... and suddenly, you ran away. I was worried what was wrong with you and followed you... but can you imagine my surprise when I saw how my big brother turned into a purple-haired girl that looked like she could be my age?" She grinned. "It's not a big deal, really! But, Percy... you have to tell me... HOW did that happen?"

"Call me Hotaru..." she muttered. "And I really haven't got a choice... I'm now sharing a soul with that girl... I'm glad I can help her, but... at times, it can be pretty difficult."

Ginny whistled. "Wow, so that's the reason why you weren't there when we had to sleep in the Great Hall." But then she smirked. "You know, I always wanted a sister... just wait what Mom will say."

Hotaru was getting scared. "No, don't tell Mom! If she and Dad find out..."

"I'm just kidding," Ginny giggled. "It's up to you if you want to tell them or not. Although I am tempted to tell Ron, Fred and George..."

Hotaru frowned at her sister. "You are terrible, you know that?"

Ginny stuck out her tongue. "Well, that's what sisters are for, right?"

Hotaru glared at her for a while, then she couldn't help herself but to join in the giggling.

* * *

Over the following weeks, the Senshi started searching for Minako, no matter if they were in their female forms or their adult selves (well, teenage self in Percy's case). But they couldn't find her.

On a cold Saturday afternoon, Lupin had invited the others into his office, so they could speak about Senshi business freely. Only Percy didn't come, because he had to attend class.

At first, Snape didn't want to come, but Dumbledore convinced him.

Lupin offered them cookies he had made using Makoto's culinary skills and new kitchen set. While Ami gladly accepted a whole bunch of them, Snape just shook his head.

"If finding that blonde pain in the neck is so important, than why are we sitting here, eating cookies?" he grumbled.

"Are you trying to make it hard for the others, Severus?" Luna sighed. "Why can't you just drop that grumpy act of yours?"

He sighed. "Lily... I mean, Luna... it's just that..."

"Oh, spit it out already!" Artemis grumbled.

"I believe I know the reason behind your reluctance, Severus," Dumbledore said in a quiet voice. "It is because of our theory regarding Minako's identity, isn't it?"

Snape did not reply, but Luna sighed. "I should have known..." she sighed. "Still with that silly grudge of yours?"

"I don't believe this!" Artemis huffed. "Listen, Sniv... Snape! You survived my comeback, even though we don't like each other very much. So if Minako is really Sirius, why can't you accept him like..."

"Like I accepted you?" Snape spat. "Did I really do that?"

"Severus..." Dumbledore said with a frown.

"I'm afraid I'm not familiar with your second lives..." Setsuna spoke up. "What happened between you two and Severus? If Black wasn't really a killer, then..."

"He was as bad as Potter," Snape growled. "Even worse at times. Go ahead, tell them of the prank you played on me after I found the secret tunnel leading to the shack."

Lupin sighed. "Severus... you do know that this happened while we were still kids, right? We are responsible adults now. I know that James' and Sirius' prank was in no way funny... but do you really believe they would do it again?"

"What happened?" Ami asked.

Snape glared at Lupin and Artemis. "Sirius thought it was funny to tell me about the tunnel that lead to the shack in Hogsmeade... the same shack Lupin was always locked in every time he turned into a savage werewolf. He curiously forgot to mention that a werewolf would be waiting for me at the end of the tunnel."

"I might remind you that you are only alive because I informed you in time," Artemis said.

"But did you stop your friend when he pulled that trick on me? Did you, Potter?"

"James!" Luna gasped, for a while forgetting to address Artemis by his new name. "You never told me about this. Did Sirius really..."

"Yeah, he did..." the white tomcat murmured. "I admit, I thought it was funny too, at first. But then, I started to realize what would happen if Snape reached the end of the tunnel... and would meet Remus. So I tried to catch up with him and told him everything."

Luna sighed. "All right, listen, I'm pretty mad at you right now, but I'm glad you had a change of heart in the end."

"I think that is enough," Dumbledore spoke up. "Your little rivalry dates back many years, and I think you all should forget what happened back then. If Minako is indeed Sirius, the problems he - or she - has to deal with are much worse than a childhood prank."

"And we still need the Senshi of Venus," Setsuna added.

"Fine, I guess..." Snape grumbled.

Luna nodded. "Good! And now, I want you two to make up and behave. Do I make myself clear?"

Snape glared at Artemis, and Artemis glared back. Reluctantly, Snape stretched out with his hand, and Artemis put his paw into it.

"Truce?" Artemis asked.

Snape sighed and nodded. "Truce!"

Suddenly, they all got startled by a loud crash when a huge shape came flying against the glass of the window.

Dumbledore blinked when he looked at the tousled owl that was sticking to the window. "This bird... doesn't it look familiar?"

"Errol!" Ami shouted as she jumped up from her stool. "That's the Weasley's old owl. I remember him from when Harry visited the Burrow." She opened the window and caught the weak owl when he tumbled into the room. "Poor, old Errol..." she muttered as she stroked his feathers.

"Does he have a letter?" Luna asked.

Ami nodded and removed the letter from Errol's foot, giving it to Dumbledore. "Here, it's for you!"

The headmaster smiled. "Thank you, Ami!" The blue-haired girl then sat down and took care of her (sometimes) fellow owl.

Dumbledore opened the envelope and started reading. At first, he frowned, but then a smile appeared on his wrinkly face.

"My friends," he said. "I believe we might just have found our two missing Senshi."

* * *

The short-haired blonde came crawling out from underneath the red convertible. She had a oil-smeared wrench in her hand and a huge grin on her face.

"These Muggle cars never cease to amaze me," she said to herself. "And with all these new knowledge, there's so much I wanna try out..."

"Dear, are you in here?" came a soft voice from outside. A turquoise-haired teenage girl then came around the corner and entered the garage. She sighed when she saw the blonde working on the car. "Working on it again?"

"Oh! Hi, honey!" Haruka smiled sheepishly. "I didn't hear you coming..."

"I suppose so, given that you made such an infernal noise in here," Michiru frowned. "I hope you're not adding any other illegal spells this time..."

Haruka blushed and feigned innocence. "Why would I ever do something like that? You know the ministry would fire me if they found out I'd so something like that."

"May I remind you of the invisibility capabilities of our last car?" Michiru grumbled. "And thanks to your experiments, it is now straying through the Forbidden Forest."

"That won't happen again, I promise!" Haruka told her wife. She then grinned again. "Still, isn't it amazing? I've never known so many things about Muggles... or about cars, for that matter."

"I know what you mean," Michiru smiled. "I always loved music, but only with the memories of my Senshi half was I able to play the violin. A good thing I found my mother's old heirloom in the attic... and the old instrument is still in good shape. Although I believe the ghoul might have sat on it once or twice..."

"Did you already send the letter to Dumbledore?" Haruka asked.

Michiru nodded. "Yes, he is the most capable wizard I know. If he doesn't know how this could have happened, I know of nobody else. I know we should try to find the other Senshi, but... could we really leave this house to find them? They could be anyplace! And the children... what will they say when they come home?"

"We can still figure something out," Haruka Weasley told her wife. "By the way, do you feel any remorse for staying in this form for such a long time? I mean, I haven't turned back into Arthur ever since I came back home from work on Friday..."

Michiru smiled. "No, I think we have the right to enjoy our newfound youth... and with Michiru's memories, it doesn't even feel strange that you are female right now. Say... why don't you put that wrench down for a moment and join me in the house..."

"Why?" Haruka wondered. Then her face brightened. "Did you cook something nice?" she asked.

Michiru frowned at her currently female husband. "I mean the bedroom, dummy!"

* * *

While Harry was as curious about the magical girls that had appeared to drive off the Dementors, he was rather worried about his own problems. Meaning, why the Dementors seemed to focus their attacks on him, the fact that they lost the Quidditch match... and that the storm had blown his Nimbus 2000 against the Whomping Willow. Unfortunately, only tiny splinters were left...

On top of that, the next weekend at Hogsmeade was approaching, and he still couldn't come with his friends.

Seeing the best friend of their little brother like this bothered the prankster duo, Fred and George Weasley, and thus, they went to bring Harry an early Christmas present.

On their way, they encountered their sister, who was talking to two of her new friends from Japan, Makoto and Hotaru. When Hotaru saw the twins, she squeaked and hid behind Makoto's back.

"Hey, you two!" Makoto greeted them. "You on your way to Hogsmeade?"

"Um, almost," Fred said. "We still have something to do..."

Ginny frowned. "What could be important enough for my two brothers to delay their visit at Honeydukes and Zonko's?" she wondered.

"That is of no concern for nosy little sisters," George told her.

She crossed her arms. "Well, okay then, don't tell me... hey, what's that you've got there?"

Fred held the old parchment he was carrying out of his smaller sister's reach. "Nothing but an old piece of parchment," he said.

"Oh, really?" Makoto asked and snatched it out of the boy's hand. "Lemme see..."

"Hey, give that back!" George shouted.

"Yeah, making trouble is our job, not yours!" Fred added.

Makoto frowned when she took a look at the parchment.

"What, what is it?" Ginny asked and tried to take a look as well.

"Aw, there's nothing on it," the pony-tailed brunette shrugged and gave it back to George.

"She's right, so there's no reason to be suspicious of us," George said.

"Nope, not at all," Fred nodded.

Ginny still wasn't convinced. "Why would my up-to-no-good brothers carry an empty parchment around and treat it like it was their OWL certificate?"

"We'd love to stay and chat, but our business partner is not waiting," Fred excused himself and his twin brother.

"Have fun in Hogsmeade!" Makoto shouted after them.

Hotaru looked out from behind her tall friend. "Are... are they gone?"

Ginny shook her head. "Honestly, you seem like a different person when you're like this... do you think Fred and George would ever recognize you like this? Besides, you're a Prefect, you can always give them detention."

"They never took me serious as Percy, why would they listen to me as Hotaru?" the violet-haired girl murmured.

Ginny had already noticed that Percy was acting a bit different when he was her sister. She saw how uncomfortable she seemed and quickly changed the subject. "So... was that parchment really empty, Makoto?" she asked.

Makoto tapped her finger against her chin. "Well, I'm not sure... I have the feeling I've seen this 'empty' piece of parchment before..."

"You think they could get in trouble because of this?" Ginny asked.

To her surprise, Makoto grinned. "Let me put it like this: If it is really what I believe it to be, then I hope they're going to make good use of it!"

* * *

Makoto was correct with her assumption, as the parchment was really the 'Marauder's Map', a magical map of Hogwarts Remus Lupin and his friends had created during their own school time at Hogwarts. And this was also what Fred and George wanted to give Harry as a present.

"Well, see ya at Honeydukes!" they grinned after having given Harry the map.

Originally, Harry had planned to spend the afternoon in the Gryffindor common room, and play a game of Wizard's Chess with Ami, but now that he had this golden opportunity...

"Harry, I really don't think you should do this," Ami frowned after he had told her about the Weasley twins' present. "What if somebody catches you?"

"I just have to make sure they don't catch me," Harry smirked. "I don't know who the 'Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs' are, but I think Fred and George are right: Not making use of this wonderful map would be an insult of their work!"

He grinned as he took the map and his invisibility cloak. "I'll bring you something nice from Hogsmeade... something you'd like?"

Ami sighed. Oh well, if there was no stopping him...

"Could you bring me some of those new owl cookies?" she then asked and nearly licked her lips. "I've seen Malfoy giving some to his eagle owl, and I'm sooo jealous..."

Harry chuckled. "I think I'm the only wizard who can ask his owl what food she prefers. Okay, I think that can be arranged. See ya later, Hedwig!"

"It's 'Ami', remember?" she smiled.

"Oops, sorry, I keep forgetting!"

Harry ran outside and left Ami behind. Artemis, who was lying in front of the fire, raised his head.

"Um... Ami?" he spoke up.

"What's wrong, Artemis?" she asked.

"I don't know how to put this, but... Harry just acquired one of the things my buddies and I made back when we were students here at Hogwarts."

Ami raised her eyebrows. "You don't want him to use that map?" she asked.

But the white tomcat was grinning. "Are you kidding? I'd be proud to see him use it!" He looked out of the door. "Go for it, boy! Make your old man proud!"

* * *

Using the Marauder's Map, Harry entered a hidden tunnel that brought him directly to the cellar of the sweet shop Honeydukes in Hogsmeade, the only village in Britain that was solely inhabited by wizards. Using his cloak of invisibility, he managed to meet up with Hermione and Ron, and walk around with them without being seen by anyone else.

Hermione, naturally, was less than thrilled when she learned about how Harry managed to get here. "You do know that Sirius Black might still be around, do you?"

"Give Harry a break, it's Christmas," Ron said. "And I don't think Black would find him in this crowd, even if he wasn't wearing his cloak... so, where do you think we should go next?"

For some time, they were torn between going to Zonko's Joke Shop, the Shrieking Shack or the Three Broomsticks Inn... when suddenly, Harry felt something brushing against his legs.

He looked down... and saw a dog with yellow fur looking up at him. It was a female labrador, with gentle eyes and a tail that was wagging back and forth constantly.

"Harry... I think this dog can smell you," Ron chuckled.

"Oh no, he's going to attract other people's attention," Hermione said.

"It's a she," Harry said and knelt down next to the dog, petting her head. "And she's awfully nice. I wonder if she belongs to anybody..."

"Most wizards here have cats or owls," Hermione pointed out. "Besides, she doesn't even have a collar."

"Maybe she's a stray," Ron assumed.

"Well, she certainly seems to like me," Harry grinned as the labrador stuck her head underneath his cloak to lick his face.

Hermione was getting a bit impatient... and she was cold. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm freezing! Why don't we just go to Madam Rosmerta's and have a butterbeer?"

Harry frowned. "Does Madam Rosmerta allow dogs in her inn?"

"I seriously doubt that, Harry," Hermione replied.

"Well, maybe you can take her along underneath your invisibility cloak," Ron suggested.

"And if she barks?" Hermione shot back. "Seriously, Harry, you know nothing about this dog. It may be dirty, might have fleas... and what if she's not housebroken?"

The dog looked up at Hermione with an annoyed expression.


	6. Party at the Burrow

Makoto came just walking back from Hogsmeade when she heard something, coming from behind one of the winged boar statues. It sounded like sobbing.

She raised an eyebrow and went to look. She was surprised when she saw a blonde girl in a Gryffindor uniform sitting there in the grass, crying to herself.

Makoto sighed. "I should have known..." she muttered and went to sit down next to the other girl.

Minako looked up at the taller girl. Makoto grinned. "Hi, Padfoot!"

Wiping her wet cheeks, Minako did not even try to deny it. "H-hi, Moony..." she sniffled.

"So Rei was right... it WAS you who turned out to receive Minako's soul after all. No wonder you didn't want to come after helping us against the Dementors."

"Th-that's not the main reason, Makoto," Minako said. "Not anymore... it's... it's my fault that... my fault..." And again, she broke out into tears.

"Hey now," Makoto said, hugging her friend. "That's not what Sirius Black would do, is it?"

"Not Sirius," the blonde girl sobbed. "But a scared, little schoolgirl would do it."

"Even Minako Aino wouldn't just despair like that," Makoto frowned. "I know you better than that, girl! In both your incarnations! You are the Senshi of Venus, are you not? Now, dry those tears and tell me what seems to be the problem." She handed her friend a tissue.

"It's Harry," Minako sniffled. "He hates me..."

The brunette blinked. "Now why would you think THAT?"

"I... I saw him... Mako, the look on his face, you... you should have seen him... right after he found out that... that is was ME who was Lily's and James' Secret-Keeper..."

"What??" Makoto was aghast. How could Harry have learned about that?

"It... it happened down in Hogsmeade... I... I wanted to stay close to him, to make sure nothing happens to him... so I turned into my second dog form, a yellow retriever..."

"You have to tell me some time how you managed to acquire a second Animagus form..." Makoto murmured. "But go on first!"

"He... he and his friends went into 'The Three Broomsticks' to drink some butter beer. However, that's also where Hagrid, Minister Fudge, Minerva McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were coming to... to discuss everything they know about... Sirius Black. They didn't know Harry was sitting close to them, and when he... when he heard that I was the Secret-Keeper of his parents, he..." Minako started sobbing again.

Makoto understood. To Harry, it looked just like it looked for everyone else in the Wizardry World: That Sirius Black was a mass murderer who was responsible for the death of his parents.

If only he knew that they are both fine, only in the bodies of cats...

"I... I can't even tell Artemis about this," Minako said. "I know he's James, but... Moony, I can't just tell him that his son is hating me! I also didn't want to show myself to you yet... but now that you found me..."

"Well, I think that trying to deal with everything by yourself won't be the best way to solve the problem," Makoto told her friend. "Listen, I know that the Sirius Black problem won't be easily solved. Heck, for the longest time, I even believed you to be on Voldemort's side as well. Only after I learned that James and Lily were reborn as Luna and Artemis did I realize that you had to be innocent."

"It's all Peter's fault..." Minako whispered. "If I get my hands on that little rat..."

"We'll deal with wormtail, but for now, I want you to cheer up again. You have friends here, Padfoot! Except for Wormtail, the Marauders are all here. And then there's Luna, Usagi, Rei..."

"Rei!" Minako had to snort at that one. "Don't think that I don't already know that she's in Snape's body! You think he would be glad to see me?"

"Yes, she would!" Makoto nodded. "You have to remember that she's also Rei Hino, the Senshi of Mars, and one of Minako Aino's best friends. Hey, if she can be friends with James, then welcoming you back in the team is the least she'd be willing to do."

Minako raised an eyebrow. "Snape, friends with James? Okay, hell has officially frozen over..."

"Well, at least they're not trying to kill each other, that's a good start, don't you think?" Makoto smirked. "Now stop moping and come back inside! The team needs you!"

"I dunno..." Minako said. "If Harry knows I'm here..."

"He doesn't have to know. We will try to find a way to tell him the truth. For now, Minako Aino can try to become his friends. When he gets to know you better, maybe it will help him by the time he finds out that you are also Sirius Black."

Minako sighed. "I wish it was that easy, Mako..."

"Well, for starters, we could all go to a great party!" Makoto smirked. She pulled a small envelope out of her robe. "Here, look! An invitation to a Christmas party in the Burrow, the home of the Weasley family. Ron Weasley is Harry's best friend, you know?"

"And why should I be invited to that party?" Minako wondered. "Or you, for that matter?"

"Oh, the Weasleys insisted that I'd come as soon as they found out that I'm here," Makoto smiled. "As well as Usagi, Rei, Ami and our kittycats. And, most importantly, Hotaru-chan!"

Now Minako was confused. "But... but why...?"

"Read the invitation, Mina!" her brunette friend said as she stood up. "That's all the advice I can give to you for now. Come to the party! I'm begging ya!"

And then, she went inside.

Minako looked at the envelope for a moment, wondering what she should do with it. In the end, her curiosity was too big, and she tore it open. She started reading.

Her eyes widened. "No way..." she whispered as she looked up from the paper. "Haruka and Michiru?"

* * *

"Over Christmas?" Harry wondered.

"Yeah! Wicked, isn't it?" Ron said. "Normally, Mom and Dad let us stay here and send us our Christmas presents to Hogwarts... I wonder why they decided to change this Weasley tradition all of a sudden."

Harry thought about it. Staying at the Burrows over the holidays would certainly distract him from any murderous thought at Black he'd have.

"Sounds like fun!" he grinned. "Hermione, what about you?"

"I'd love to, really," Hermione said. "But you know what Professor Meioh said... there's probably gonna be an Astronomy test right after the holidays. I need to study..."

"Oh sure, because you're soooo not good at Astronomy..." Ron groaned.

"Besides, someone needs to stay and take care of Hagrid's problem," she pointed out. "The hearing about Buckbeak... you know?"

"Right, I almost forgot about that," Harry said. "You think you can do both, study and find something that'll help Hagrid?"

"Well, unlike certain boys, I'm not planning on slacking off over the Christmas days," Hermione said pertly.

Just then, Percy, George and Fred entered the common room. Percy was looking exceedingly discontented. "I'm not going!" he told the twins.

"C'mon, Perce, don't be a grouch," George just said. "Whenever do we get to spend Christmas with the family? Think about what Mom and Dad are gonna say."

"Yeah, and think about the Christmas pudding Mom is going to make," Fred added, licking his lips.

"I'm not going, and that's final!" the prefect snapped.

"Gee, what's wrong with Percy?" Harry asked.

Ron shrugged. "Dunno, he's even more grouchy than usual. Hey, Percy! Any particular reason why you prefer to spend the day with the other, boring prefects instead of with us?"

"Well, it might have to do with the fact that a certain, female Ravenclaw prefect also stays at Hogwarts over the holidays..." George said and whistled innocently, while Fred snorted into his hand.

Percy's face turned a deep shade of red. "Th-that's none of your business!"

He couldn't tell them the truth. If Ron, or even worse, George and Fred found out that he was Hotaru... he'd never hear the end of it. True, he could try to stay Percy for the duration of his stay back home at the Burrows... but he knew there had been times where he just wasn't able to control his transformation.

Just then, Usagi, Makoto and Ginny entered the common room. "What's the commotion, boys?" Makoto asked.

"Well, Mom and Dad are planning a Christmas party back home, and Percy doesn't want to come."

"Yeah, I just read their letter," Ginny said, waving around a piece of paper. "Percy, I think you should come."

Percy glared at her. How could she say that? After all, she knew about his predicament. "You've got to be kidding me!"

A deep frown appeared on Ginny's face. "You'll come with us... or do you want me to tell everyone your little secret?"

Percy paled, while George, Fred and Ron looked at him with sudden interest. "You wouldn't dare!"

Ginny looked like the cat who ate the canary. "Try me..."

"What kind of secret?" Fred asked. "C'mon, Perce, spill it!"

"Yeah, you know you can't keep secrets from us," Fred added.

"Stop that!" Percy angrily said. "Okay, fine, I'm coming."

"No, really, what kind of secret is she talking about?"

Percy gave Ginny a glare that seemed to say: 'I'll get you for this.'

Ginny and Hermione exchanged a grin, while Usagi and Makoto inconspicuously went into their dormitory.

Ami was already waiting for them.

After closing the door, Makoto turned to her blonde friend and said: "All right, I made sure Mina-chan got the invitation. Now all we have to do is wait and see if she's going to come along as well or not."

"I already talked to Rei," Ami said. "And she's afraid she can't make it. She still has to correct a few tests before the holidays are over. Besides, she says that staying under one roof with both Potters at the same time probably won't be a good idea."

Usagi giggled. "What is she saying? While in Hogwarts, we all are under one roof."

"Still, she has a point," Ami said. "Besides, I know there's not enough space for all of us... it's already going to be pretty cramped when we, Harry and all the Weasleys are there. Maybe I can stay in Harry's room, as Hedwig..."

"You're not trying to peep, are you?" Usagi grinned and waved her finger. "Naughty girl!"

Ami blushed.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Makoto asked. "We just all go there with Floo Powder and tell the Weasley children that their parents are Senshi?"

"Molly and Arthur... that is, Michiru and Haruka are going to tell their children the news gently. They will give us a sign when it's time to come in, and then we're gonna join the party," Usagi explained. "Boy, are they gonna be surprised when they learn that Percy is Hotaru-chan..."

"You didn't tell them yet?" Makoto asked with a smirk. "Now who's the naughty girl?"

"That's gonna be some reunion!" Ami smiled. "Hotaru-chan will be overjoyed to see her 'Haruka-papa' and 'Michiru-mama' again."


End file.
